Full casting has been announced for The Children’s Theatre Partnership  co-production of Unexpected Twist, set to open at Royal & Derngate on 11 February, before embarking on a national tour.

After Northampton, the production will visit Newcastle, Canterbury, Kingston, Nottingham, Norwich, Coventry, Cheltenham, Salford, Malvern, Wolverhampton, Blackpool, Oxford and Leicester

Unexpected Twist is a re-telling of the classic Charles Dickens tale, Oliver Twist, by one of Britain’s best loved writers and performance poets, Michael Rosen, adapted for the stage by arguably one of the country's leading dramatists, BAFTA award-winning playwright Roy Williams.

A thrilling new work from the producing partnership behind Holes and The Jungle Book, this will be the final production James Dacre (Olivier Award-nominated Our Lady Of Kibeho) directs in Northampton during his artistic leadership of Royal & Derngate.

Shona and her class are studying Oliver Twist. She’s new in school and, much like Oliver himself, keeps finding herself in trouble. When she’s given a new phone by a stranger, she begins to suspect there’s something fishy about the new kids she’s met. Gradually the worlds of both Shona and Oliver are brought to vivid life as their stories twist together, unexpectedly.

This new play with original music by rising R&B star Yaya Bey and musical direction by Artistic Director and pioneer of hip hop theatre, Conrad Murray, will star Kate Donnachie (Aladdin) as Desree, Alex Hardie (Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster) as Gazz, Rosie Hilal (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) as Miss Cavani, Drew Hylton (Annie) as Shona, Nadine Rose Johnson (Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster) as Rosie, Polly Lister (The Worst Witch) as Nan/Lorraine, Alexander Lobo Moreno (GrimeBoy) as Tino, James Meteyard (Coriolanus) as Pops, Liyah Summers (Our Lady Of Kibeho) as Rasheda, and Thomas Vernal (The Book of Mormon) as Dad.

Behind Unexpected Twist is an award-winning creative team of amazing experience, with design by Frankie Bradshaw, choreography by Arielle Smith, lighting by Rory Beaton, and sound by Leigh Davies.

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