Full casting has been announced for the highly anticipated return of critically acclaimed musical The Wicker Husband.

Joseph Alessi (Moonlight and Magnolias – Nottingham Playhouse and The Lorax – Old Vic and Toronto) will play ‘Cobbler’, Gemma Sutton (Sweet Charity – The Watermill, The Girl from the North Country – Gielgud and Toronto) will play ‘Ugly Girl’, Olivier Award winner George Maguire (Sunny Afternoon – West End, 20^th Century Boy – touring) as ‘Wicker Husband’, Angela Caesar (Caroline or Change – Playhouse Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and National Theatre, Rags – Park Theatre) as ‘Cobbler’s Wife’, Jonathan Charles (The Butterfly Lion – Barn Theatre Cirencester, War Horse – national tour) as ‘Innkeep’, Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat – Southwark Playhouse, The Colours – Soho Theatre) as ‘Innkeep’s Wife’, Jack Quarton (Amélie – Criterion, Assassins – Watermill) as ‘Tailor’ and Davina Moon (The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson – Park, Privates on Parade – Noel Coward) as ‘Tailor’s Wife’,  Julian Forsyth (Local Hero – Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, Sunset Boulevard – ENO) as ‘Old Basket Maker’ with Jon Whitten as on-stage band playing the Hammered Dulcimer, Rachel Barnes also as on-stage band, and Pat Moran as onstage Musical Director.

Nisha Anil (Rhia and The Tree of Lights – Quirk Theatre and Dr. Dolittle – Illyria Theatre) and Sebastian Charles (Puppeteer for ‘Amal’ in The Walk – Good Chance and Handspring Puppet Company) and Puppeteer and cover ‘Aslan’ in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – The Bridge) will be the puppeteers of The Wicker Husband, with Tom Norman (War Horse, UK and international and Circus 1903 – Southbank) as Swing.

Directed by Charlotte Westenra, with Book by Rhys Jennings, Music and lyrics by Darren Clark and based on an original short story by Ursula Wills, this folk-inspired new musical tells the timeless tale of the outsider and was the winner of the inaugural MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award in 2016 celebrating new British musical theatre writers. It was also included in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 30th Annual Festival of New Musicals in New York.

The show will feature handcrafted wicker puppets created by Puppetry designer and director Finn Caldwell whose credits include War Horse (West End & International), Life of Pi (Sheffield Crucible) and The Grinning Man (Bristol Old Vic & West End), with highly skilled puppeteers from Handspring, War Horse and Good Chance, bringing The Wicker Husband to life.

THE WICKER HUSBAND will play from Friday 11 – Saturday 26 March 2022, with a press night on Tuesday 15 March.