Shakespeare 4 Kidz - S4K Hamlet: Major Casting Announced

Paul Parris will play Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; Filipa Jeronimo will play his mother Queen Gertrude and Antony Stuart-Hicks will play the king’s counsellor Polonius. Further casting will be announced in August.

All three actors have worked with Shakespeare 4 Kidz before.

Paul Parris is well-known to TV audiences after five years as Matthew Pearson in BBC’s Grange Hill before going on to complete five series of Nickelodeon’s Renford’s Rejects as Bruno di Gradi.
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, is set to become Paul’s real-life wife in June 2007. The couple met five years ago in pantomime and have worked together regularly ever since. 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.

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.

Commenting on the casting announcement, S4K Producer and Director Julian Chenery said
“We are thrilled to have secured the unique talents of these three artistes for a further season. Not only are each of them individually supremely talented and hard-working, but their team-work and professionalism is an inspiration to the company on the road. I’m delighted they’re back!”

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 2008, with further countries being added later in 2008.

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What they say about us:
S4K TEMPEST:"When the Tempst curtain rose we were bustling with excitement. The performance lived up to expectations. It was really good. Caliban was many peoples favourites. Stefano the drunk was also loved by the audience. We came last year to see Midsummer Nights Dream which was superb and this year we weren't disappointed either. Thank you for giving us a great school trip"