We Will Rock You - All Star Cast

Bristol is set to be rocked this September/October when the Bristol Hippodrome hosts WE WILL ROCK YOU - with an all star cast!                    

 

Actor and musician JONATHAN WILKES and former Coronation Street star KEVIN KENNEDY, have been revealed as the stars of the smash-hit musical WE WILL ROCK YOU, which comes to the Bristol Hippodrome for a strictly limited season from the 16th September – 31st  October 2009.

 

They will appear in the much anticipated Queen and Ben Elton musical alongside X Factor finalist BRENDA EDWARDS, star of ITV1’s Britannia High GEORGINA HAGEN and BBC1's I’d Do Anything Nancy contestant ASHLEY RUSSELL, who are also announced today.

 

Jonathan Wilkes will perform the role of ‘Khashoggi’, the Chief of the Secret Police who answers to Killer Queen’s every command, whilst Manchester soap star Kevin Kennedy will assume the role of ‘Pop’, a librarian who is stuck in his ‘hippie’ past and is searching to find answers to the end of rock music. Brenda Edwards will play the domineering role of ‘Killer Queen’, Head of Globalsoft, the corporation responsible for the banning of all instruments and musical originality. TV star Georgina Hagen will star in the production as ‘Meat’, the main female of the Bohemians and Ashley Russell, will play the role of the ‘Teacher’, who befriends students whilst actually working as a spy for Globalsoft’s Secret Police.

 

Speaking about the tour, Jonathan Wilkes comments, ‘I am chuffed to be part of this show and very excited to be working with such a fantastic company’

 

Jonathan has previously worked as a television presenter and musician, but has more recently been seen on stage in productions such as ‘Guys and Dolls’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ and played the lead role in last year’s touring production of ‘The Wedding Singer’.

 

Kevin Kennedy is equally as enthusiastic, ‘I am over the moon at the prospect of appearing in WE WILL ROCK YOU. Queen have always been my idols and I have seen the show every time I have been down to London never dreaming that one day I would play Pop.’

 

Actor Kevin is best known for his role as ‘Curly Watts’ in the long running soap Coronation Street, in which he starred for seven years. He then moved to the stage, starring in productions of ‘The Extra Factor’ and ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’.

 

Brenda Edwards says, ‘I am really excited to be a part of this huge rock musical tour and am looking forward to working with some rock and comedy legends as well as singing some Killer Queen songs!!’ ‘

 

Luton born Brenda rose to fame in ITV1’s talent show ‘The X Factor’. Since appearing on the show, she was chosen for the role of Mamma Morton in the West End production of ‘Chicago’, which she has played at various intervals until early this year.

 

I am honoured to be part of the company’ says Georgina Hagen, ‘I can't wait to until performances start in March’.

 

Georgina is best known for her role as ‘Lauren’ in the ITV1 show ‘Britannia High’, has appeared in various stage productions, including the London Palladium’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’.

 

Ashley Russell comments, ‘I am completely ecstatic to be part of the WE WILL ROCK YOU production. I can’t wait to get started on stage.’

 

Actress and singer Ashley, gained public prominence when she appeared as one of the Nancy contestants in last year’s BBC1 show ‘I’d Do Anything’. Amongst others, she has performed in regional productions such as ‘Richard III’ and ‘The Waiting Room’. 

 

The touring production reaches local UK theatres carrying with it an impressive legacy: when it first became news that one of Britain’s most phenomenally successful comedy writers Ben Elton was teaming up with legends of rock, Queen, for a musical there was much speculation on what such a unique collaboration would turn out. Especially when screen icon Robert de Niro became so impressed after attending the original workshop that his company Tribeca came on board as American partner.

 

The result was a new chapter in theatre history – WE WILL ROCK YOU - a rock ‘theatrical’ which defied all comparisons and has gone on to rock London’s West End and theatres around the world for the past six years to an audience of well beyond 6 million. 

 

Says Brian May: “The amazing bonus is that Ben's script subtly works as a metaphor too. People definitely come out of the theatre feeling that in a strange way they now know us, Queen, and our struggle, our journey.”