Picture: Nathan Matthews
Feel-good musical Mamma Mia! will welcome new cast members to the stage of the Novello Theatre early next month.
From 6 October, Sara Poyzer (Come From Away, UK tour, Assassins, Watermill Theatre) will return to the role of Donna Sheridan – a role she has played in the West End, across the UK and internationally for over 12 years, most recently at the Novello Theatre in 2017 and 2019. She will be joined by: Nicky Swift (Shirley Valentine, UK tour, Footloose, UK tour) who will return as Rosie after playing the character in the UK and international tours and Poyzer’s real-life husband and Mamma Mia! UK and international tour co-star Richard Standing (Macbeth/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre) as Sam.
Fellow new additions to the London cast drawn from the UK and international tour cast also include: Daniel Crowder (Come From Away, UK tour, Gypsy, The Mill at Sonning) reprising his performance as Harry, Tamlyn Henderson (Les Misérables/The Sound of Music, Australian productions) as Bill, Ellie Kingdon (Grease, Dominion Theatre/UK tour) as Sophie and George Maddison (Carousel, Kilworth House Theatre, Heathers the Musical, The Other Palace) as Sky.
October newcomers will also include Chloe Gentles as Ali, Foxy Valentine as Lisa, Joshua de La-Garde as Eddie and Benjamin Dawson as Pepper.
They will join continuing cast members Kate Graham as Tanya and Emma Odell who will move from Ensemble to play Donna at certain performances.
The continuing cast will also include Franky Attard, Matthew Barrow, Jack Bromage, Maddy Cameron, Dennis Cousins, Andrew Gallo, Lawrence Guntert, Genevieve Jameson, Tom Parsons, and Maisie Waller. They will be joined by Ella Beaumont, Joseph Craig, Josh Crowther, George Hinson, Laura Jayne-Hardie, Deena Kapadia, Matthew Mori, Meghan Peploe-Williams, Emily Squibb and Ria Turner.
Details of the new cast were released alongside the announcement of a new booking extension which takes the hit West End production up to 26 September 2026.
Only the third musical in West End history to reach its quarter of a century milestone, the West End production celebrated its 26th birthday in April this year.
Craymer’s inventive use of the hits of Swedish supergroup ABBA to create a sun-soaked musical has been seen live on stage by over 70 million people in 50 different productions, and in 16 different languages. The musical has grossed more than $4 billion at the box office. In 2011 it became the first Western musical to be staged in Mandarin in China.
The show originally opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre in 1999, before moving into the Prince of Wales Theatre in 2004, and then reopening in its new London home, the Novello Theatre in 2012.
The London production has been seen by over 11 million people, played over 10,000 performances and has broken box office records in all three of its London homes.
A new UK tour will begin on 24 October at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre.
With music and lyrics by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast.
The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.
Angela Thomas
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