Full cast announced for the world première of THE FAMOUS FIVE

Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd Tamara Harvey directs Ailsa Dalling as puppeteer and puppet associate, Elisa De Grey as Timmy puppeteer and puppet associate, Lara Denning as Aunt Fanny, Maria Goodman as George, Sam Harrison as Bobby, Isabella Methven as Anne, David Ricardo-Pearce as Uncle Quentin, Louis Suc as Dick, Kibong Tanji as Rowena and Dewi Wykes as Julian. The production opens at Theatr Clwyd on 29 September with previews from 23 September and runs until 15 October, before playing at Chichester Festival Theatre from 25 October to 12 November, with previews from 21 October.

When George and her dog Timmy find out that her cousins Julian, Anne and Dick are coming to stay, they’re pretty sure the whole summer is ruined. But out in the bay lies Kirrin Island and a ruined castle filled with mysteries to solve. Together they embark on a daring mission with the future of the planet at stake – a mission that might just be the making of the Famous Five…

Based on Enid Blyton’s multi-million-selling novels, this new musical by the award-winning Elinor Cook, with music and lyrics by Theo Jamieson, is an exciting and heart-warming treat. Directed by Olivier award-winning Tamara Harvey (Home, I’m Darling).

Ailsa Dalling plays puppeteer and puppet associate. Her theatre credits include: Animal Farm (UK tour), Angelo, The Adventures of Curious Ganz, The Wolves in the Walls (Little Angel Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Leeds Playhouse), The Dancing Frog (UK tour) and Venus & Adonis (RSC).

Elisa De Grey plays Timmy puppeteer and puppet associate. Her theatre credits include: Animal Farm (UK tour), Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Goodnight Mister Tom (Phoenix Theatre), Pinocchio, A Christmas Carol (Citizens Theatre), Running Wild (UK tour), Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: A Reimagining (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Wolves in the Walls (Little Angel Theatre), No Way Out (Southwark Playhouse), Cinderella, Robin Hood and The Lottie Project (Polka Theatre).

Lara Denning plays Aunt Fanny. Her theatre credits include: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (UK tour), The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (Ambassadors Theatre/Menier Chocolate Factory), Ruthless! The Musical (Arts Theatre), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Matilda (Cambridge Theatre), Scrooge the Musical (Curve Theatre), Dick Whittington (Bristol Hippodrome), The Rocky Horror Show (international tour), Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance (UK tour), All the Fun of the Fair (UK tour), You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (UK tour), Can Can (Sadler’s Wells) and Carousel (Kilworth House Theatre).

Maria Goodman plays George. Her theatre credits include Jabberwocky (The Other Palace/Theatre Royal Margate), South Pacific, Aladdin, Mother Goose (Lyceum Theatre), Peter Pan (Theatre Royal Margate) and What We Wished For (Crucible Theatre). Her television credits include Ted’s Top Ten.

Sam Harrison plays Bobby. His stage credits include: The Magician’s Elephant (RSC), Love is Only Love (Chichester Minerva), The Wizard of Oz (Leeds Playhouse), Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West Yorkshire Playhouse/UK tour), Eastward, Ho! (Shakespeare’s Globe), A Damsel in Distress (Chichester Festival), By Jeeves (Trinity Theatre), The Phantom of the Opera (UK tour), Salad Days (Riverside Studios), Crazy for You (London Palladium) and Avenue Q (Gielgud Theatre). His film credits include Under the Jericho Sun and Foxtrot One One.

Isabelle Methven plays Anne. Her theatre credits include: Annie the Musical (Piccadilly Theatre), School of Rock (New London Theatre – original UK cast), Mary Poppins (international tour), The Sound of Music (UK tour), Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre), La Traviata, Carmen and Die Meistersinger (Royal Opera House).

David Ricardo-Pearce plays Uncle Quentin. His theatre credits include We Started to Sing (Arcola Theatre), Saint Joan (National Theatre), Kiss Me Kate (Watermill Theatre), The Last Yankee Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Hired Man (Octagon Theatre), The Lorax (Old Vic), The Middlemarch Trilogy, De Montford (Orange Tree Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bristol Old Vic), The Rover (Hampton Court Palace), The Big Fellah (Lyric Hammersmith), Anyone Can Whistle, Saturday Night (Jermyn Street Theatre), Annie Get Your Gun (Young Vic Theatre), Privates on Parade (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Birmingham Rep), The Car Cemetery (Gate Theatre), Two Cities (Salisbury Playhouse) and Tom’s Midnight Garden (Unicorn Theatre). His television credits include Traitors, Trauma, The Spa, Outnumbered, Extras and Border Crossing.

Louis Suc plays Dick. His theatre credits include: Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Matilda (Cambridge Theatre). His film credits include: I’ll Find You, High-Rise, The White King and My Cousin Rachel; and for television, Goldie’s Oldies, Rhyme Time Town and Mike the Knight.

Kibong Tanji plays Rowena. Her theatre credits include TINA, The Tina Turner Musical (Aldwych Theatre), Hairspray (London Coliseum), Misty (Trafalgar Studios), The Sun, The Moon and The Stars (Theatre Royal Stratford East), The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs (Soho Theatre) and All My Sons (Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch).

Dewi Wykes plays Julian. His stage credits include Petula (National Theatre Wales) and The Three Seagulls (Bristol Old Vic). His television credits include Y Goleudy and The Sister Boniface Mysteries.

Elinor Cook was the winner of the George Devine Award 2013 for Most Promising Playwright and a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award 2018. For television, she has recently written on Killing Eve, The Secrets and The Essex Serpent. Her commission for Paines Plough Roundabout Season, Out of Love, ran at the Orange Tree Theatre in Spring 2018, having opened at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and then toured the UK. In 2017 she was also commissioned by the Donmar Warehouse to adapt Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah for the Donmar’s Autumn/Winter 2017 season. Other previous theatre credits include: Extra Yarn (Orange Tree Theatre), Pilgrims (Hightide Festival/The Yard/Theatr Clwyd), Ten Weeks And Image Of An Unknown Woman (Gate Theatre), The Boy Preference (National Theatre Connections 2015), The Girl’s Guide To Saving The World (Hightide Festival) and This Is Where We Got To When You Came In (Bush Theatre).

Tamara Harvey became Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd in 2015. Her work for the company includes Olivier Award-winning Home, I’m Darling by Laura Wade, created in collaboration with the National Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing, the première of Elinor Cook’s award-winning play, Pilgrims; David Hare’s Skylight, and Peter Gill’s new version of Uncle Vanya. Before joining Theatr Clwyd, Harvey was a freelance director for fifteen years, working in the West End, throughout the UK and abroad on classic plays, new writing, musical theatre and in film. Beginning her career at Shakespeare’s Globe, she has also directed at, amongst others, Hampstead Theatre, Bush Theatre, St James Theatre, Finborough Theatre, Trafalgar Studios, Menier Chocolate Factory, Birmingham Rep, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Theatre Royal Northampton and Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Enid Blyton and The Famous Five are registered trademarks of Hodder & Stoughton Limited.

This production at Theatr Clwyd is supported by the Carne Trust Trainee Directors Scheme.