Natalie Mendoza will star as Imelda Marcos in the National Theatre’s forthcoming production of Here Lies Love, which opens in the newly refurbished Dorfman Theatre this autumn.
The Hong Kong-born actress, who is best known for her role as Jackie Clunes in British drama series Hotel Babylon, will play the former Phillipines First Lady alongside Filipino singer Mark Bautista as her onstage husband Ferdinand Marcos.
Featuring music and lyrics by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the award-winning musical, first seen in New York last year, will make its London premiere at the Southbank venue on 13 October, with previews from 30 September.
The production, for which audiences will be encouraged to get to their feet and dance with the actors, charts Marcos’ journey from her meteoric rise to power to her descent into infamy and disgrace.
The show will also star Dean John-Wilson, last seen on the London stage in Tim Rice musical From Here To Eternity, as Ninoy Aquino, one of the men leading the opposition to President Marcos’ government. Gia Macuja Atchison, Lauren Chia, Christopher Chung, Julius Ebreo, Jim Ferrer, Li-Tong Hsu, Kok-Hwa Lie, Frances Mayli McCann, Aaron Jan Mercado, Martin Sarreal, Julie Yammanee and Sunny Yeo complete the cast.
Directed by Alex Timbers, Here Lies Love will be the first production to play in the new Dorfman Theatre, which is to be transformed into a pulsating club when the immersive theatrical event, complete with heart-pounding beats and adrenaline-fuelled choreography, arrives at the venue.