Cast announced for London revival of LIFT

A musical set in one of London's most iconic lifts

Author: Rhys FreemanPublished 7th Apr 2022
Last updated 7th Apr 2022

Casting has been revealed for the revival of LIFT which heads to the Southwark Playhouse next month.

The musical, which is set in the lift of Covent Garden tube station will run at the Southwark's Large theatre from 13th May to 8th June 2022.

LIFT at the Southwark Playhouse: Cast

Luke Friend as Busker

Luke appeared as a finalist on the tenth series of The X Factor in 2013, his stage credits include Footloose and American Idiot.

Hiba Elchikhe as Secretary

Hiba's credits include Everybody's Talking About Jamie and Fiver.

Kayleigh McKnight as the French Teacher

Kayleigh's credits include Heathers the Musical and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.

Jordan Broatch as Avatar

Jordan is currently at the Southwark Playhouse starring in their production of Anyone Can Whistle.

Marco Titus as BYT

Marco's credits include Mandela - A New Musical.

Cameron Collins as the Ballet Dancer

Cameron is making his professional debut.

Tamara Morgan as the Lap Dancer

Tamara is making her professional Debut.

Chrissie Bhima as Avatar

Chrissie is making her professional debut

LIFT has music and lyrics by Craig Adams and a Book by Ian Watson, the original production ran at the Soho Theatre in 2013.

Luke Friend said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of the wonderful cast of LIFT! This show is going to be so intimate and unique. Being a songwriter and Busker myself for many years, I feel as though I completely and utterly relate to my character’s story and the message he is trying to bring across. I can’t wait to give everything to this role and perform at Southwark playhouse for the first time. This is a real treat for me.”

Hiba Elchikhe, added: “I am really looking forward to being a part of LIFT the musical with this incredible group of people. I can’t wait for you all to see it.”

LIFT will be directed by Dean Johnson He/Him (Godspell, BKLYN, Dogfight) with musical direction and new arrangements by Sam Young He/Him (White Christmas, The Man in the Ceiling) and choreography by Annie Southall She/Her.

Dean Johnson, Director of LIFT said: “Since we first began the journey of our revival of LIFT, we knew casting would be integral to how we could present the show as a snapshot of London in 2022. We had the most sensational audition process and the UK is certainly not short of incredible and diverse talent, and this allowed us to find an incredible group of people that can bring this story to life in a fresh way. I really believe our cast demonstrates how exciting the talent pool is in our industry with a mixture of established and incredible artists alongside fresh new faces. I really think they are going to blow the roof off Southwark Playhouse as a collective group of artists!”

The creative team includes Andrew Exeter He/Him as production designer, Associate Designer by Natalia Alvarez She/Her, Assistant Design by Xinyi Du She/Her, Assistant Direction by Eden Howes She/Her and casting by Pearson Casting.

Tickets for LIFT are available from the Southwark Playhouse's Box Office, by calling 020 7407 0234 or visiting their website.

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