Paul Parris to play Hamlet in new Shakespeare 4 Kidz tour

Shakespeare 4 Kidz are delighted to announce the full casting for its forthcoming UK production of Shakespeare 4 Kidz HAMLET.

Paul Parris will play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; Filipa Jeronimo will play his mother Queen Gertrude; Jason Lee Scott is the usurping uncle Claudius and Antony Stuart-Hicks will play the king’s counsellor Polonius. All four actors have worked with Shakespeare 4 Kidz before.

Paul Parris (as Paul Adams) is well-known to TV audiences after five years as Matthew Pearson in BBC’s Grange Hill, before going on to complete six seasons as striker Bruno di Gradi in Nickelodeon’s soccer soap Renford Rejects. This is his third season with Shakespeare 4 Kidz, where he has played Puck to great acclaim in S4K A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Porter in S4K Macbeth and Caliban in S4K The Tempest.

By the time the show hits the road, he will be “married to his mother”, as Filipa Jeronimo, who will play Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, became Paul’s real-life wife in June 2007. The couple, who met five years ago in pantomime and have worked together regularly ever since, were married on the island of Jersey during the summer. Filipa’s previous roles for Shakespeare 4 Kidz include Titania/Hippolyta in S4K Dream; Ariel in S4K The Tempest; and two different seasons in S4K Macbeth where she has played First Witch and later Lady Macbeth.

Paul famously proposed to his wife-to-be onstage at the White Rock Theatre, Hastings at the end of the Christmas Eve production of Aladdin in 2005; and it is believed to be one of the only accounts of an onstage proposal in show business.

Jason Lee Scott, who returned to the company for the recent international tour to Dubai, has appeared in the West End and on tour in Bill Kenwright’s Blood Brothers, where he has appeared as both Mickey and Eddie.

Antony Stuart-Hicks who will play Polonius is also a pantomime regular and is known as the country’s youngest pantomime dame. He has played Gonzalo in S4K The Tempest and Quince and Egeus in S4K A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The full casting is as follows: Michael Anders, Tommi Baxter-Hill (Laertes), Olivia Chenery, Michael Diana (Rosencrantz), Marianne Hare (Ophelia), Noel Andrew Harron (Osric), Filipa Jeronimo (Gertrude), Jason Lee Scott (Claudius), Sean Luckham (Gravedigger), Paul Parris (Hamlet), Aidan Slater (Ghost), Steven Smallwood (Horatio), Mark Stewart (Guildenstern), Antony Stuart-Hicks (Polonius), Gavin Woods (Gravedigger).

Shakespeare 4 Kidz HAMLET is the sixth musical adaptation in the Shakespeare 4 Kidz series. The show is written by Mercury Musical Development Associate Julian Chenery (book and lyrics) and Matt Gimblett (music) and is produced and directed by Julian Chenery. Design is by Jaimie Todd (who designed the recent Manchester Royal Exchange production Pretend You Have Big Buildings).

Musical director is Tim Whiting and Choreography/Musical Staging by Fran Newitt.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz HAMLET is a brand new show from the acclaimed Shakespeare 4 Kidz Theatre Company and will open at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield on Tuesday 11th September at the start of an eight-month UK tour. The show will then tour internationally to Dubai and the Gulf region in April and May 2008, with further countries being added later in 2008.

 S4K Hamlet full casting announced 2007-08-09 49.53 Kb