Original Avenue Q West End cast members to return for special finale performance

Original company members Julie Atherton, Ann Harada, Siôn Lloyd, Jon Robyns and Giles Terera will join the current West End company of Avenue Q for a special reunion performance on Thursday 17 September at the Shaftesbury Theatre.

The performance will mark the musical’s 20th anniversary and will be dedicated to the memory of the show’s set designer Anna Louizos.

Producer Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson said today: “We have been thrilled by the response to Avenue Q’s return to the West End, and it has been an absolute joy to see a new generation of audiences connect with these outrageously loveable and inappropriate puppets.

“The show has always celebrated the chaos of growing up, finding your place, and trying to work out what you’re doing with your life, which remains relevant after all these years. We’re enormously proud of this production and hugely grateful to the brilliant company, creatives, crew and audiences who have made this West End run so special. Don’t miss your last chance to take a trip down Avenue Q!”

The current West End production of Avenue Q will play its final performance on Sunday 3 January 2027. The production returned to London for a limited anniversary season featuring the original Broadway puppets and was subsequently extended.

The show received a glowing review from WhatsOnStage earlier this year, being described as “the theatrical definition of naughty but nice.”

Starring in the production for its London season are Emily Benjamin as Kate Monster and Lucy The Sl*t, Noah Harrison as Princeton and Rod, Meg Hateley as Mrs T and Bad Idea Bear, Oliver Jacobson as Brian, Charlie McCullagh as Nicky, Trekkie Monster and Bad Idea Bear, Amelia Kinu Muus as Christmas Eve and Dionne Ward-Anderson as Gary Coleman.

The rest of the company includes Jasmine Beel, Jonathan Carlton, Angelis Hunt, Lesley Lemon, Jessica Niles Kadi, and Joshua Williams-Ward.

The production is directed by original Broadway director Jason Moore, with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and a book by Jeff Whitty. Stephen Oremus provides orchestrations and arrangements, while Rick Lyon’s original Broadway puppets are conceived and designed by him.

The set design is by Louizos, with choreography by Ebony Molina, costume design by Jean Chan, lighting design by Tim Lutkin, sound design by Paul Groothuis, video design by Nina Dunn for PixelLux and musical direction by Benjamin Holder. Iestyn Evans and Andy Heath provide puppetry coaching for Talk to the Hand Puppets, with hair and makeup design by Jackie Saundercock, casting by Pearson Casting and Julie Atherton as associate director.

The musical first opened in the West End in 2006 at the Noël Coward Theatre before transferring to the Gielgud Theatre and then Wyndham’s Theatre, where it closed on 30 October 2010. A concert production was staged at the Sondheim Theatre in 2024 to mark the musical’s 18th anniversary.