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The amazing talented cast of Artaban the Musical lifted the roof at The Actors’ Church Covent Garden, LONDON

As the sparkle dust settles after the 2021 London, ARTABAN the MUSICAL showcase in Covent Garden, the creative, cast and production teams are taking a well-earned breather from the last few weeks whirlwind of excitement and hard work. We are still feeling the light, love and joy that emanated from the prestigious St Pauls, the Actors Church in the heart of a twinkling pre-Christmas Covent Garden.

Our new rock musical ARTABAN showcased on 23^rd/24^th November for three performances, to overwhelming positive reviews and three ecstatic standing ovations for the wonderful cast. Many thanks to Pearson Casting, who worked their magic in providing the crème de la crème of Musical Theatre talent, matching their skills to the characters they played perfectly.

Sasha Regan of the Union Theatre, Southwark directed a diverse and talented cast, many of whom had stepped out of their day jobs in top West End shows to perform in ARTABAN the MUSICAL. Sasha`s expertise shone out like a beacon! At her side was stage manager Jack Evans and the choreography genius, Kasper Cornish.

Danny Becker (The Prince of Egypt – Aladdin) gave a beautiful, heart-felt performance as the fourth wise man, ARTABAN. Bobbie Little (Heathers the Musical) played the feisty Esther. Her voice sashayed from melodic and touching, to a blend of rock, soul and gritty explosions of energy, wow!

We couldn`t have wished for a more cohesive group of actors. Their communal energy radiated the love, passion, pain and utter joy outwards and upwards that Daphne Lander (book), Anne Jones (lyrics) and Rick Radley (music) had all envisaged – but could only hope would be translated to the audience.

Matt Bond (Little Shop of Horrors) shook us to the core with his portrayal of the psychopathic `Herod` and `Herod Antipas`. He slipped seamlessly between quiet malevolence and unpredictable outbursts of fury! Nobody would guess what a sweet soul he is when off stage. “Matt Bond puts the rod into Herod” is just one of many twitter quotes from audience members. We have to agree.

Natalie Chua (Anything Goes) as Martha, one of only two female voices in the cast, gave a beautiful, believable and touching performance. Her voice… simply stunning!

The other three magi were brilliantly performed by Fela Lufadeju (Guys and Dolls, Royal Exchange – I May Destroy You BBC, HBO TV) as Balthazar, Alistair So (The King & I) as Melchior and Eu Jin Hwang (The King & I) as Caspar.

The storyline was peppered with infectious humour, introduced by Ashford Campbell (9 to 5 – Dreamgirls) – as Tigranes/thief, with hilarious banter between McCallam Connell (Oh Babylon – Dr No) as Jeweller/Innkeeper/Market Trader and Juan Jackson (Rent – Cats – Miss Saigon) as Rhodaspes/Market Trader. The entire cast put their heart and soul into the dance routines, songs and script and with a mere ten days to learn and perfect their roles, everyone was astounded by the polished `West End` quality of the production.

Sami Lamine (Broken Wings) as Amos warmed our hearts when his mellow operatic voice took on a fabulous unexpected `rocky` edge. Yet another `wow` moment!

Charles Doherty (Jesus Christ Superstar – Hairspray – Spamalot) as Abdus and the Slave blew us away with his acting and vocal prowess and we are all still pinching ourselves at how quickly the cast became a beautiful supportive family.

Throughout this process we have met a group of insanely talented friends we will never forget and hope to remain in touch with.

Thank you to all who played a part in making this musical showcase the success it was. This is simply the beginning!

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