Into the Woods – first look at West End rehearsals

Exclusive: Rehearsal photos have been released for the West End transfer of the Bridge Theatre’s multi-award-winning production of Into the Woods. 

Directed by Jordan Fein, the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical will begin previews at the Noël Coward Theatre on 22 September, ahead of an opening night on 7 October. The production will run until 9 January 2027.

New faces joining the company are Simbi Akande as Cinderella, John Dagleish as the Baker, Fiona Finsbury as Rapunzel, Lucas Koch as Rapunzel’s Prince, Laura Pitt-Pulford as the Baker’s Wife, Jack Quarton as the Steward, Keith Ramsay as Jack, Matthew Seadon-Young as Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf, and Michael S Siegel as the Narrator.

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Continuing are Valda Aviks as Grandmother and the Giant, Geoffrey Aymer as Cinderella’s Father, Kate Fleetwood as the Witch, Jennifer Hepburn as Cinderella’s Stepmother and alternate Witch, Hana Ichijo as Lucinda, Julie Jupp as Jack’s Mother, Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson as Florinda and Gracie McGonigal as Little Red Ridinghood.

Hollie Aires, Sabrina Aloueche, Jacob Fowler, Adam Robert Lewis, Sophie Linder-Lee, Toby Turpin and Elsie Watson serve as standbys.

The production premiered at the Bridge Theatre in 2025 and went on to win Best Ensemble or Cast and Best Designer at the Critics’ Circle Awards, followed by Best Musical Revival and Best Lighting Design at the Olivier Awards.

The creative team includes set and costume designer Tom Scutt, musical supervisor Mark Aspinall, orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, sound designer Adam Fisher, lighting designer Aideen Malone, video designer Roland Horvath, movement director Jenny Ogilvie, wigs, hair and make-up designer Sam Cox, puppetry designers Cheryl “Chuck” Brown, Max Humphries and Scutt, musical director Alex Beetschen and casting director Stuart Burt.

Into the Woods features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine.