Casting announced for Fanny & Stella
London theatre news: Saturday 25 July 2020
Musicals - Open Air Theatre
Final casting has been revealed for a new version of the musical 'Fanny and Stella' - the first London Fringe show since lockdown - due at the Garden Theatre in Vauxhall.
Ernest Park and Frederick Boulton
Final casting has been announced for Fanny and Stella - the first London Fringe production since theatres closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
This new socially distanced, open-air production is scheduled as the premiere production at The Garden Theatre in the newly refurbished beer garden of The Eagle in Kennington Lane, Vauxhall, playing from 3 to 25 August.
Fanny And Stella is directed by Steven Dexter and produced by Peter Bull for LAMBCO Productions.
Cast (from left)
Top row: Jed Berry, Kurt Kansley, Alex Lodge
Bottom row: Mark Pearce, Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Kane Verall
Previously announced cast members Jed Berry as Ernest Boulton/Stella and Kane Verrall as Frederick William Park/Fanny will be joined by:
Kurt Kansley (playing Lord Arthur Clinton) ...
Kurt was Coalhouse in 'Ragtime' at Regents Park and Shultz in 'Miss Saigon' in the West End.
In Australia, he was twice nominated Best Actor in a Musical, as Che in 'Evita' and Coalhouse in 'Ragtime'.
Alex Lodge (as Louis Charles Hurt) ...
Alex was understudy Elder Price, and played the role 200 times, in 'The Book Of Mormon' in the West End.
He was most recently Ledoux in the 'Bat Out Of Hell' UK tour and will resume that role in 2021.
Last year he was Offie nominated Best Male Performance in a Musical as Jon in 'tick, tick…BOOM!' at Bridge House Theatre.
Mark Pearce (plays Mr Grimes) ...
Mark saved the day to play Thénardier with just two hours' notice at the inaugural performance of 'Les Misérables', Sondheim Theatre, West End.
He played Mr Grimes in a previous production of 'Fanny and Stella' and was also in 'The Wedding Singer' at Leicester Curve/UK tour.
Joaquin Pedro Valdes will be John Safford Fiske ...
Joaquin was Cover Lun Tha in 'The King and I', UK/International Tour, and Cover Engineer/Cover Thuy in 'Miss Saigon', UK Tour.
In Manila, he was Mr. Wormwood in the premiere of 'Matilda' and Melchior Gabor in the premiere of 'Spring Awakening'.
The story behind Fanny & Stella revolves around two young men, Ernest Park and Frederick Boulton,who, in 1871, were put on trial in London for dressing as women and conspiring to commit sodomy - a criminal offence at the time.
They dressed up as women (and were very good at it) for amateur theatricals, but when the show was over, and sometimes when there wasn't even any show, as 'Fanny and Stella' they would frequent places of entertainment in the West End where men encountered men for sex and male prostitutes plied their trade.
Park and Boulton were acquitted - an amazing victory for the time when sexual acts between men carried a sentence of two years - perhaps it was because one had a father who was a judge, and the other a mother who swayed the court with her tears.
Producer Peter Bull commented ...
"We are taking baby steps as we venture into the brave new world of open-air socially distanced performances.
We are only performing three shows a week initially but we aim to increase this after a successful launch."
Show listing details are given below - note that face masks or coverings must be worn throughout the performance by socially-distanced audience members.
Show listing information
Synopsis
Ernest Park and Frederick Boulton were two young men who, in 1871, were put on trial in London for dressing as women and conspiracy to commit sodomy, a felony at the time.
They dressed up as women (and were very good at it) for amateur theatricals, but when the show was over, and sometimes when there wasn't even any show, as 'Fanny and Stella' they would frequent places of entertainment in the West End where men encountered men for sex and male prostitutes plied their trade.
Park and Boulton were acquitted - an amazing victory for the time when sexual acts between men carried a sentence of two years - perhaps it was because one had a father who was a judge, and the other a mother who swayed the court with her tears.
Upon their acquittal, Park and Boulton - as Fanny and Stella - along with their theatre company, take their story on the road.
They hire a venue for "one night only" to tell their amazing true story of their lives, their trial, and their sensational acquittal.
This is their "tell-all-tale", told for us, right here, no-holds barred, through song, dance and a whole barrel of comedy and fun!
But are they, in an unforgiving age, putting themselves on trial a second time?
Cast
Jed Berry - Ernest Boulton/Stella
Kurt Kansley - Lord Arthur Clinton
Alex Lodge - Louis Charles Hurt
Mark Pearce - Mr Grimes
Joaquin Pedro Valdes - John Safford Fiske
Kane Verrall - Frederick William Park/Fanny
Creatives
Author: Glenn Chandler (book)
Composer: Charles Miller
Lyricist: Glenn Chandler
Director: Steven Dexter
Designer: David Shields
Musical direction: Aaron Clingham
Production: Peter Bull for LAMBCO Productions
Venue
349 Kennington Lane
London
SE11 5QY
Dates
From: Monday 3 August 2020
Closes: Sunday 23 August 2020
Tickets
Standard: £16.00 + bkng fee
Links
Show website
ActDrop full listing for Fanny & Stella
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