Former Olivier Award nominee Sophie-Louise Dann is heading back to London’s West End this spring, leading the cast of Ivor Novello’s Gay’s The Word at the Jermyn Street theatre.
The actress, nominated at last year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard for her hilarious performance as ambitious diva Diana DiVane in Lend Me A Tenor The Musical, stars alongside former How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? contestant Helena Blackman and former Tony Award winner Elizabeth Seal, who makes a rare return to the stage for this London musical revival.
The production, directed by Stewart Nicholls, marks the first time since 1951 that a full production of Gay’s The Word has been staged in the capital and follows a successful sold out semi-staged production at the Finborough theatre last January.
Novello’s musical tells the tale of theatrical star Gay Daventry (Dann) who, when her latest musical production flops, opens a stage school only to discover that what she need to get back to the top is, in the title of the show’s hit song, Vitality!
Gay’s The Word opens Jermyn Street’s spring season and is followed by productions of Graham Greene’s powerful drama of sex, sin and guilt, The Living Room, which stars Christopher Timothy, and Frederick Lonsdale’s comedy of manners On Approval. Both will be directed by the venue’s incoming Artistic Director Anthony Biggs.