Malinda Parris joins & Juliet in the West End

Meet & Juliet's new Nurse – Malinda Parris!

Parris, who has previously appeared in Mary Poppins and Matilda in the West End, will take on the role at the Shaftesbury Theatre from 20 June 2022 (the musical recently announced a new extension).

She will take over from Keala Settle, who succeeded Melanie La Barrie in the role earlier this year. Parris and La Barrie are firm friends, as it turns out: "We're both Trinidadian so we've got that connection. The majority of roles I've played, Mel's originated – Mrs Corry in Poppins, Mrs Phelps in Matilda – we have a joke that she's paving my career."

The return is a special one and marks Parris' first role since the pandemic, as she explained to WhatsOnStage yesterday: "I was in Poppins in early 2020 and then Covid happened. I got the virus, had to be hospitalised and had pneumonia on both of my lungs. I then had to go back in for a pulmonary embolism. We were hearing on the news about people going into hospital and not coming back.

"That year was so hard for me – not being able to sing (Covid leading to no breath control) or even, for some points, walk from the bed to the bathroom. So this is my first role back and I couldn't have chosen a more demanding track! It's going to be intense but – go big or go home right."

Parris has been welcomed into a fantastic community of performers, she explains, as she prepares to go into rehearsals: "I went to the theatre for a costume fitting last week and met the cast for the first time and they were so welcoming – a community that I know I can love – a West End community where we're all here for each other."

Find out more about who Parris is joining and the show's extension here.