Hayley Flaherty and Steve Furst will join the cast of the 10-time Olivier Award nominated Matilda The Musical from April, stepping into the roles of the despicable Mr Wormwood and the altogether more pleasant Miss Honey.
The pair will take over from Lauren Ward and Paul Kaye who originated the roles when the critically acclaimed hit opened at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s home in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2010 before transferring into the West End at the Cambridge theatre.
Flaherty was last seen in the West End playing Meg in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. A regular in musical theatre productions, her other credits include playing Sandy in Grease at the Dominion theatre, Thoroughly Modern Mille at the Shaftesbury theatre and Saturday Night Fever at the Apollo Victoria theatre, as well as numerous credits at the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Boyfriend.
In contrast, Furst will make his musical theatre debut in the production. An actor, comedian and writer, Furst was last on the London stage in Chicken Soup With Barley at the Royal Court theatre. Best known for his comedy appearances, Furst has appeared in Little Britain, My Dad’s The Prime Minister and Armstrong & Miller, and wrote and starred in The Lenny Beige Television Show.
Spring will see further changes to the cast with original Matildas Kerry Ingram and Sophia Kiely also departing the musical. The young actresses, who share a Best Actress in a Musical nomination with Cleo Demetriou and Eleanor Worthington Cox, will be replaced by Jade Marner from mid-April, who currently plays Amanda Tripp, and Hayley Canham who will join the company as the forth rotating Matilda in mid-August.
The musical also announced today that while original company members may be departing the show, an end to its hit West End run is nowhere in sight with the production extending its run to 17 February 2013.
Bertie Carvel, who is Olivier Award nominated for his role as Miss Trunchbull, will remain in his role until 1 July, while Josie Walker will continue her run in the production as Mrs Wormwood.