Full company announced for CHOIR at Chichester Festival Theatre
Photo credit: Seamus Ryan
Full casting has been announced for the world premiere of Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s CHOIR, which plays at Chichester Festival Theatre from 2-30 August.
Heartwarming, funny and packed with glorious arrangements of contemporary songs, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s new comedy with music promises a thoroughly entertaining night out.
Directed by Hannah Joss, the cast includes Laura Checkley (Detectorists, The Change) as Morgan, Alison Fitzjohn (Crow Girl, The Band) as Joy, James Gillan (Shrek, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) as Paul, Danielle Henry (Quiz, The Beaker Girls) as Esther, Keenan Munn-Francis (Mr Loverman, Passing Strange) as Freddie, Danusia Samal (The Great, Red Eye) as Anna, Timothy Speyer (The Box of Delights, The 39 Steps) as Ken, and Annie Wensak (Half a Sixpence, Groundhog Day) as Sheila.
Morgan runs a community choir who meet weekly in a room above the local pub to sing great pop songs, chat and drink. There’s Paul, a former West End performer who now does local radio voiceovers; Esther and Joy, best friends who can’t stand each other; Anna, whose seemingly perfect life hides a secret; Ken, good egg and perennial loser; and Sheila, dark horse and pathological liar.
The choir are busy rehearsing a concert to raise money for young Freddie to go to music college. And when a TV producer invites them to perform on national television, Morgan seizes her opportunity to hit the big time.
But – are her eccentric group up to it? And what is Morgan prepared to sacrifice to get the acclaim she so desires? Home truths are revealed and secrets laid bare in this feelgood comedy, which explores loneliness and connection while celebrating the joy and power of community art.
The production is designed by Anisha Fields, with lighting by Jai Morjaria, music and sound design by Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, arrangements by Rich Forbes, musical direction and additional arrangements by Michael Henry, movement direction by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster, and casting by Jacob Sparrow.