Singer songwriter Declan Bennett and Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitešić will lead the cast of Tony Award-winning musical Once when it opens in the West End later this year.
Based on the Oscar-winning film of the same name, Once will play at the Phoenix theatre from 16 March.
Bennett, whose acting credits include Rent and American Idiot on Broadway, has appeared on stage in the UK in productions including Taboo at the Venue and Love Day Tomorrow at Coventry’s Belgrade theatre. A former band member of British pop group Point Break, Bennett, who will play Guy in the production, has released a number of solo albums, including the most recent Record: Breakup, as well as appearing in films including medical thriller Contagion.
His co-star Cvitešić, who will play the Girl to his Guy, is a well-known face in Croatian theatre, having starred in productions including Romeo And Juliet, Three Sisters and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Croatian National Theatre. The actress has also won numerous awards for her on screen roles in films What Is A Man Without A Moustache? and On The Path.
The leading duo will be joined in the cast by Valda Aviks, whose musical theatre credits include the Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton-led musical Sweeney Todd and Regent’s Park Open Air theatre hit Into The Woods, Chariots Of Fire’s Gabriel Vick, Aidan Kelly, whose credits include Blasted and I Have None at the Lyric Hammersmith, and Jez Unwin, who is currently appearing in The Magistrate at the National Theatre following appearances in West End musicals including Ghost The Musical, Evita and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The cast will also include Ryan Fletcher (Blackwatch, Wolves In The Walls for the National Theatre of Scotland), Michael O’Connor (Sunday In The Park With George at the National Theatre), Miria Parvin (Mamma Mia! and Our House on tour), Flora Spencer-Longhurst (The Beggar’s Opera at the Young Vic), Jos Slovick, who recently appeared in blockbuster movie hit Les Misérables, and Gareth O’Connor, who will make his West End debut in the production.
Written by Enda Walsh, Once tells the touching tale of an Irish busker and young Czech mother who meet through a shared love of music, and features music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the stars of the original Irish film.
The production is directed by John Tiffany, director of the Olivier Award-winning Black Watch, and will open at the Phoenix theatre following the return of Olivier Award-nominated show Midnight Tango, which plays from 30 January to 2 March.