DCI Banks star Stephen Tompkinson will make his West End musical debut next month as King Arthur in the return of the unashamedly silly Monty Python’s Spamalot.
Tompkinson, who is a popular face on television with roles in series including Drop The Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel and Wild At Heart, will lead the cast alongside Anna-Jane Casey and Todd Carty, who returns to the show for a strictly limited run following his part in the madcap musical’s previous eight week summer run.
It’s not only the cast that has had a winter shake-up however, with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table moving from its summer home at the Harold Pinter theatre to the Playhouse theatre, with previews from 14 November (press night 24 November).
Written by Monty Python icon Eric Idle and composer John Du Prez, Spamalot is described as “lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python And The Holy Grail” and features everything you’d expect from a Monty Python experience, including a bevy of beautiful show girls, cows, killer rabbits and French people, with songs including He Is Not Dead Yet, Knights Of The Round Table, Find Your Grail and the classic Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.
While the royal role may mark Tompkinson’s musical debut he is no stranger to the London stage having appeared in Cloaca at the Old Vic and Rattle Of A Simple Man, Arsenic And Old Lace and Art in the West End.
As his Lady of the Lake, Casey is a more experienced in the art of singing and dancing, having appeared in many major West End shows including Chicago, West Side Story, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, and more recently Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Aladdin at Hackney Empire.
EastEnders star Carty performs in the cast as Patsy until 24 November, with further casting to be announced.