After breaking two ribs on Sunday evening, Graham Norton will miss tonight’s performance of La Cage Aux Folles, but is expected to return in all his glamorous glory for Tuesday evening’s performance.
The TV presenter, who is currently playing drag star Albin in the classic camp musical, injured himself falling down stairs after hosting Sunday’s BAFTA TV Awards and will be taking pain killers to allow him to continue performing after a day’s rest.
The actor and comedian, best known for his television chat shows and for hosting the BBC’s shows searching for musical stars, joined the cast of La Cage Aux Folles in January, replacing Laurence Olivier Award-winner Douglas Hodge. Following three months in frocks, he gives his final performance on 2 May, before Roger Allam dons the famous dresses. Allam is joined in the show’s new cast by Philip Quast, who returns to the role of Georges that he initially played when La Cage Aux Folles was staged at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
La Cage Aux Folles, which plays at the Playhouse theatre, is the story of club owner Georges and his star attraction and lover, drag artiste Albin, whose idyllic existence is threatened when Georges’s son announces his engagement to the daughter of a right wing politician. When the future in-laws pay a visit, Georges and Albin must make a drastic decision about their lifestyle.
First opened on Broadway in 1983, this production premiered at the Menier Chocolate Factory in January 2008 before transferring to the West End in October.
MA