A new U.K. touring production of Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, starring the previously announced Drama Desk nominee and YouTube star Christina Bianco, will open in Southampton March 23, 2022.
Bianco will be joined by Shobna Gulati (Everybody's Talking About Jamie) as Mari Hoff, Ian Kelsey as Ray Say, Akshay Gulati (The Family Way) as Billy, William Ilkley (War Horse) as cabaret club owner Mr. Boo, Fiona Mulvaney (The Ferryman) as Sadie, and James Robert Moore (All That) as the Phone Man. Anna Hale (London Road) will understudy the roles of LV and Sadie.
The production will subsequently tour to The Capitol Horsham, Exeter Northcott, Malvern Theatres, Theatre Clwyd, Theatre Royal Brighton, Derby Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse, Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Wakefield, Crewe Lyceum Theatre, The Lowry Salford, Blackpool Grand, Mercury Theatre Colchester, Richmond Theatre, York Theatre Royal and Everyman Theatre, and Cheltenham.
Bianco stars as Little Voice, a woman with a talent for embodying the legendary diva performers she loves to listen to, from Judy Garland to Shirley Bassey and Marilyn Monroe. The work premiered at the National Theatre in 1992 in a production directed by Sam Mendes that won Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Comedy. A brief Broadway run was seen in spring 1994. Original stage star Jane Horrocks, Jim Broadbent, Ewan McGregor, Michael Caine, and Brenda Blethyn starred in a 1998 film adaptation titled Little Voice.
Produced by Katy Lipson and Glass Half Full Productions, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will be directed by Bronagh Lagan, with musical direction and associate sound design by Eamonn O’Dwyer, set and costume design by Sara Perks, casting by Jane Deitch, lighting design by Nic Farman, and sound design by Andrew Johnson. Chris Matanlé is the general manager.
Bianco was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for her performances Off-Broadway in Application Pending and Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab. A prolific impressionist, Bianco also has an active YouTube channel and has appeared on The Today Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She joins the U.K. tour of Little Voice following her West End debut in Menier Chocolate Factory's Forbidden Broadway and playing Fanny Brice in Théâtre Marigny Paris' Funny Girl.
Visit LittleVoiceUK.com for a complete touring schedule.
