The U.K. tour of Cake, which is subtitled The Marie Antoinette Playlist and billed as a "Parisian dance gig in one act," will begin performances March 13 at the MAST Mayflower Studios in Southampton.
The production will subsequently play The Lowry in Salford, Plymouth's The Drum, and Leicester's Curve before concluding at the Theatre Royal in Norwich April 24-29.
Directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie (In the Heights, Jesus Christ Superstar), the cast will feature Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins) as Marie Antoinette and Renee Lamb (SIX) as Jeanne with B Terry as Nicole, Travis Ross as Cardinal, and Ope Sowande and Megan Bryony Gibbs in the ensemble, and Lukas Hunt and Amie Hibbert as swings.
Check out the company in rehearsal below:
The Cast of Cake
The Cast of Cake
The Cast of Cake
The Cast of Cake
The Cast of Cake
The Cast of Cake
Renee Lamb and Drew McOnie
Renee Lamb
Jack McManus and Megan Cave
B Terry and the Cast of Cake
Based on an idea by Paul Taylor-Mills, who originally commissioned the work, Cake is written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm with songs by Tasha Taylor Johnson and Jack McManus. Casting is by Will Burton.
Cake, which combines music with 18th century France, spotlights Marie Antoinette, whose reputation was tarnished when she married King Louis. But when she is implicated in a crime to defraud the crown jewelers of a diamond necklace, it is not just her reputation at stake, but the monarchy and France itself.
Taylor-Mills said in an earlier statement, “We are delighted to be partnering with five of the leading regional theatres to present a development production of this brilliant new show. I first commissioned this at The Other Palace five years ago and am delighted to be working with some of the best theatre makers in Drew McOnie, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Tasha Taylor Johnson, and Jack McManus. The show started life at our first MTFestUK and it’s great to see it come to production.”
