Exclusive: Casting announced for Bananaman the Musical

The cast has been announced for the world premiere of Bananaman the Musical, which comes to the Southwark Playhouse in December.

Matthew McKenna (The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, We Will Rock You) assumes the mantle of the titular superhero and resident of Acacia Road.

He is joined by Marc Pickering (Boardwalk Empire, Les Misérables screen adaptation), who plays Bananaman's arch nemesis Doctor Gloom. Also cast are Jodie Jacobs (Rock Of Ages) as Eric’s loyal sidekick, Crow, Mark Newnham (Sunny Afternoon) as Eric Wimp and Carl Mullaney (Les Misérables) as General Blight.

The remainder of the cast will be composed of TJ Lloyd, Lizzii Hills, Brian Gilligan, Emma Ralston, Chris McGuigan and Amy Perry.

Leon Parris's musical, based on both the 1980 Nutty comic and the TV cartoon which ran between 1983 and 1986, will be directed by Mark Perry with set design from Mike Leopold, musical supervision from Alan Berry, and choreography and associate direction by Grant Murphy.

Bananaman runs at the Southwark Playhouse from 4 January to 20 January, with previews from 15 December.