Actor and comedian Meera Syal takes control of the orphanage as Miss Hannigan in the beloved family musical Annie, directed by Nikolai Foster.

Set in 1930s New York during The Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery and torment at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. But her luck changes when she is chosen to spend Christmas at the residence of famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks. Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…

Foster’s production arrives in the West End 40 years after the original Broadway production opened in 1977, when it received seven Tony Awards including the Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The last West End production of Annie opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1998.

In 1982, the musical was adapted for the big screen, directed by John Huston, with a cast including Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and Albert Finney, and in 2014 a further feature film was released, directed by Will Gluck, with a cast including Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.

This West End production of Annie opened at the Piccadilly Theatre in May 2017 with Miranda Hart as Miss Hannigan, with Craig Revel Horwood joining the Company to play the role in September 2017. They are followed in the role by Meera Syal, who is best known for her role in the BBC’s comedy series The Kumars At No. 42 and Goodness Gracious Me; on stage, she has starred in Romeo & Juliet (West End) and Behind The Beautiful Forevers (National Theatre). Meera was made an MBE in 1997 and a CBE in 2015.

With a much-loved, Tony Award-winning book and score, including the classics It’s A Hard Knock Life, Tomorrow and Easy Street, Annie will charm and delight audiences of all ages.

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Looking to see some musical theatre? Find out more about London musicals.