Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch reveals cast for new London run and UK tour

Exclusive: Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch has announced casting for the brand-new production hitting the stage in London this December, ahead of a UK tour.

Featuring a revised script, the piece has book and lyrics by Robyn Grant (who also directs) and Daniel Foxx, with music, arrangements and orchestrations by Tim Gilvin. The not-so-family-friendly musical parody tells the backstory of one of Disney’s most illustrious villains, immortalised through the 1989 animated classic The Little Mermaid.

The cast includes Orange Is the New Black star Shawna Hamic (as Ursula) in her UK theatre debut, alongside RuPaul’s Drag Race UK‘s River Medway (as Ariel), Thomas Lowe (as Triton), Allie Dart (as Sebastian), Jamie Mawson (as Eric), and Julian Capolei (as Grimsby), with Corrina Buchan, Jack Gray, Jamie McKillop and Milly Willows serving as ensemble members and understudies. Casting is by Sarah Leung CDG.

The production will also feature set, costume and puppet design by Abby Clarke, choreography by Melody Sinclair, musical direction and supervision by Arlene McNaught, lighting design by Adam King, sound design by Lucy Baker, Oscar Thompson and Will Thompson, flying and effects by John Maddox for Suspended Illusions, make-up design by Maya Lewis, production management by Titch Gosling, intimacy and fight coordination by Claire Llewellyn for RC-Annie, puppet builds by Aled Williams, costume supervision by Sian Clare and assistant direction by Stephenson Ardern-Sodje. Additional orchestrations are by Nikki Davison and Joe Davison for Auburn Jam.

Presented by Wildpark Entertainment and Dianne Roberts, this new version of Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch will be staged at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 8 December 2023 until 17 February 2024. The UK tour is scheduled to launch at The Lowry in Salford (22 February to 2 March) and will then visit Liverpool Playhouse (5 to 9 March), His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen (12 to 16 March), Orchard Theatre, Dartford (19 to 23 March), Bradford Alhambra Theatre (4 to 6 April), Leicester Curve (8 to 9 April), Birmingham Hippodrome (11 to 13 April), New Theatre, Peterborough (16 to 20 April), Oxford Playhouse (23 to 27 April), Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow (30 April to 4 May), New Theatre, Cardiff (7 to 11 May), Palace Theatre, Southend (28 May to 1 June), Northcott Theatre, Exeter (4 to 8 June), Churchill Theatre, Bromley (18 to 22 June), Theatre Royal Nottingham (24 to 29 June), Newcastle Theatre Royal (2 to 4 July), Southampton Mayflower Theatre (6 to 7 July), and Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton (11 to 14 July), with more dates to be announced in due course.

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