Mark Williams, star of The Fast Show, Father Brown, 101 Dalmatians, The Borrowers, Shakespeare in Love and seven of the Harry Potterfilms, will star as Doctor Dolittle at the first ten venues of the new UK & Ireland Tour of Doctor Dolittle, with book, music and lyrics by double Academy Award-winner Leslie Bricusse. Featuring stunning visual puppetry, this new production, with the book reworked by Leslie Bricusse, will be part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the original film starring Rex Harrison and will feature the same songs, including the Academy Award-winning Talk To The Animals.
Mark Williams’s many theatre credits include Fanshen at the National Theatre, Doctor of Honour for Cheek by Jowl, Moscow Gold, Singer, A Dream of People and As You Like It for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Art in the West End, Toast at the Royal Court and Tartuffe at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
Williams will play Dolittle in Bromley, Salford, Oxford, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Hull, Aberdeen, Northampton, Nottingham and Sheffield. Further casting is to be announced.
Eccentric Doctor Dolittle embarks on an extraordinary adventure to find the Giant Pink Sea Snail that holds the secret of life and makes the world a happier place. Helped by his human companions and an exotic menagerie of animal friends, including the Pushmi-Pullyu and trusty sidekick Polynesia the parrot, the larger-than-life Doctor Dolittle teaches us not only to talk to the animals but to listen to them as well!
Leslie Bricusse has written the book, music and/or lyrics for more than 40 musical films and plays. Stage musicals include Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, Pickwick, Harvey, Goodbye, Mr Chips, Scrooge and Victor/Victoria, while films (songs and/or screenplays) include Scrooge, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Goodbye, Mr Chips, Superman, Victor/Victoria, Home Alone 1 & 2, Hook, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, The Last Emperor and various Pink Panthers. His songs include What Kind of Fool Am I?, My Old Man's A Dustman, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, On A Wonderful Day Like Today, The Candy Man and Oompa-Loompa-Doompa-Dee-Doo. As well as winning two Oscars, he has won a Grammy and eight Ivor Novello Awards.
The new stage production of Doctor Dolittle will be directed by Christopher Renshaw (Le Grand Mort, Zorro, Taboo, We Will Rock You, The King and I), with design by Tom Piper (Associate Designer at the RSC from 2004 to 2014, and designed the installation for the Tower of London poppies installation and subsequent tours - original concept and Poppies by Paul Cummins), and musical supervision by Mike Dixon (most recent theatre includes Mrs Henderson Presents, Oh What A Lovely War, Bodyguard, Taboo, Hair, Zorro, Never Forget and We Will Rock You).
Doctor Dolittle is based on the Doctor Dolittle stories by Hugh Lofting and the Twentieth Century Fox film.
Doctor Dolittle is performed by arrangement with Music Theatre International (Europe) Ltd.
Website: www.doctordolittlemusical.com
Facebook: Doctor Dolittle The Musical
Twitter: @DolittleMusical
TOUR SCHEDULE
9 – 24 November 2018 Churchill Theatre Bromley* 020 3285 6000 www.churchilltheatre.co.uk
11 December – 5 January 2019 The Lowry Salford* 0843 208 6000 www.thelowry.com
15 – 26 January Oxford New Theatre* 0844 871 3020 www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-theatre-oxford
29 January – 9 February Wolverhampton Grand Theatre* 01902 42 92 12
www.grandtheatre.co.uk
12 – 23 February Newcastle Theatre Royal* 0844 811 2121
www.theatreroyal.co.uk
26 February – 9 March Hull New Theatre* 01482 300 306 www.hulltheatres.co.uk
12 – 23 March His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen* 01224 641122
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com
26 March – 6 April Royal & Derngate Northampton* 01604 624811 www.royalandderngate.co.uk
9 – 20 April Nottingham Theatre Royal* 0115 989 5555 www.trch.co.uk
23 April – 4 May Sheffield Lyceum Theatre* 0114 249 6000
www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk On sale to be announced
14 – 25 May Festival Theatre Edinburgh 0131 529 6000
www.edtheatres.com
28 May – 8 June Alhambra Theatre Bradford 01274 432000
www.bradford-theatres.co.uk On sale to be announced
11 – 22 June Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin 0844 847 2455
www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie On sale to be announced
9 – 20 July The Marlowe, Canterbury 01227 8787787
www.themarlowetheatre.com
23 July – 3 August Glasgow King’s Theatre 0844 871 7648
www.atgtickets.com/venues/kings-theatre
6 – 17 August Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff 02920 636464
www.wmc.org.uk On sale to be announced
20 – 31 August Mayflower Theatre, Southampton 02380 711811
www.mayflower.org.uk
3 – 14 September Blackpool Winter Gardens 0844 856 1111
www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk On sale to be announced
17 – 28 September New Wimbledon Theatre, London 0844 871 7646
www.atgtickets.com/venues/new-wimbledon-theatre
8 – 19 October Milton Keynes Theatre 0844 871 7652
www.atgtickets.com/milton-keynes-theatre
22 October – 2 November Birmingham Hippodrome 0844 338 5000
www.birminghamhippodrome.com On sale to be announced
*Mark Williams dates
