Gold, who will play Berthe through Jan. 8, 2012, has appeared regularly in the West End, where her credits include Oliver! (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Mary Poppins, Mamma Mia! and Anything Goes (all at the Prince Edward), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Ziegfield (London Palladium) and Noises Off (National). Her film credits include "Topsy-Turvey," and for many years she also worked as a puppeteer with Jim Henson and was a founding member of TV's "Spitting Image" team.
Quentin, who will take over from Jan. 10-22, was recently seen at the Menier in Terrible Advice. Her extensive theatre credits include Life After Scandal (Hampstead Theatre), The London Cuckolds and Arnold Wesker's Roots (both at the National Theatre), and the original production of Les Misérables (the Barbican and Palace Theatres). She currently stars in the third series of BBC1's "Life of Riley." Other TV credits include playing Dorothy in "Men Behaving Badly" (winning the Best Comedy Actress Award 1995 at the Comedy Awards), starring as Maddie in the first three series of "Jonathan Creek" for the BBC, and appearing in five series of "Blue Murder" for ITV and three series of "Life Begins," for which she received the 2004 British Comedy Actress Award for her performance in the first series.
News about other actresses to play the role will be released at a later date.
They join a cast that also features Harry Hepple, Ian Kelsey, Matt Rawle and Frances Ruffelle with Ben Bunce, Bob Harms, Holly James, Anabel Kutay, David McMullan and Kate Tydman.
The production is directed and choreographed by Mitch Sebastian and incorporates Bob Fosse's original Tony Award-winning choreography. Sets and projections are by Timothy Bird, with lighting by Ken Billington, costume design by Jean-Marc Puissant, orchestrations and music supervision by Simon Lee, sound design by Gareth Owen and musical direction by Tom Kelly. It is being presented at the Chocolate Factory in conjunction with Michael Jackowitz/Arlene Scanlan and Adam Blanshay/Natalie Macaluso. To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7378 1713, or visit www.menierchocolatefactory.com.
