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The King & I (1998) programme cover

Past production

The King & I

Tuesday 10th–Saturday 14th November 1998

Bristol Hippodrome

In November 1998 the Bristol Light Opera Club, performing as BLOC, staged Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I at the Bristol Hippodrome, directed by John Cousins with musical director Paul Woolley and choreographer Jacquie Bell. New chairman Jim Kelly noted that the musical had “not been performed in the Bristol Hippodrome since BLOC staged it in 1974”, and the NSPCC was the club’s chosen charity, with a retiring collection at every performance. Alison Sutton, who had played Tuptim in 1974, returned as Lady Thiang in her 25th year with the club, and two alternating teams of Princes and Princesses joined O J Lynch’s King and Melanie Evans’s Anna.

Cast

  • Captain Orton — Neil Merrett
  • Louis Leonowens — James Dadd / Ben Salter
  • Anna Leonowens — Melanie Evans
  • The Interpreter — Joseph Stone
  • The Kralahome — Joe Chester
  • The King — O J Lynch
  • Tuptim — Vicky Hayes
  • Lady Thiang — Alison Sutton
  • Prince Chulalongkorn — Daniel Edwards
  • Lun Tha — Simon Vardakis
  • Sir Edward Ramsay — Christopher Greaves

Who made it

Creatives

Director
John Cousins
Musical director
Paul Woolley
Choreographer
Jacquie Bell

Get involved

How do I join?

Everyone who performs with BLOC has auditioned for their place. We look for strong singers, confident movers and actors who can hold a stage.

Auditions are held each spring for that year’s show. Tell us you are interested and you will be the first to hear when the details are announced.

There is as much to do off the stage as on it. Backstage crew, wardrobe, props and the production team behind a show of this scale are all volunteer roles, and we are looking for people all year round.

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