Silence of the Lambs parody and Come Dine With Me musicals announce casts and London runs

Casting has been revealed for new musicals Come Dine With Me and Silence!. 

The former is based on the much-loved TV series of the same name, penned by Sam Norman and Aaron King.

Following the film crew tackling the weekly dining competition series, the show is co-created by TV producers Nell Butler (Airline; Celebrities Behaving Badly; You Be the Judge) and Genevieve Welch (Airline; I’m a Celebrity; MasterChef), who both directly worked on Come Dine With Me.

Playing at Underbelly’s Cowbarn from 31 July to 26 August, appearing will be Daniele Coombe (The Witches) as Mary, Kim Ismay (Wicked) as Barbara, Paul Hazel (Avenue Q) as Duncan, Harry Chandler (Les Misérables) as Teddy, Sophie Hutchinson (Heathers) as Janey, Leo Udvarlaky (Bhangra Nation) as Ernest and Tom Bowen (Get Up, Stand Up!) as Roy.

The second musical is Silence!, an unauthorised parody based on Silence of the Lambs, which was first seen off-Broadway in 2005.

With singing serial killers and tap-dancing lambs, the show features a ten-strong cacst and direction and choreography by Christopher Gattelli (Wonka, Newsies) and designer Scott Pask (The Pillowman). It is penned by Hunter Bell, based on a screenplay by Jon Kaplan and Al Kaplan. The show runs at Underbelly’s Cowbarn from 31 July to 26 August.

Appearing are Mark Oxtoby (Guys and Dolls) as Lecter, Phoebe Panaretos (Zorro) as Clarice, Tom Giles (The Lord of the Rings) as Pembry, Jake Anthony (Cabaret Le Cirque) as Buffalo Bill, Matt Bond (Making A Murderer: A Musical) as Chilton, Paul Ryan (A Christmas Carol) as Crawford, Sebastian Goffin (Carousel) as Dream Hannibal, Jenay Naima (The Bodyguard Musical) as Arelia, Catherine Millsom (Kinky Boots) as Catherine and Nathalie Marrable (My Fair Lady) as Dream Clarice.

After their Edinburgh stints, the two shows will play in London, running from 4 to 29 September at the Turbine Theatre.