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Cast Announced For Pride And Prejudice* (*sort Of)

The cast for the 2026 Australian tour of the musical comedy Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) was announced today. The five performers who will portray the iconic roles of Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Mr and Mrs Bennet and all other characters, will be Amy Lehpamer, Zoe Ioannou, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Ruby Shannon and Teo Vergara. Amy Lehpamer has led the cast of national tours of & Juliet as Anne Hathaway and The Sound of Music as Maria, as well as lead roles in Dusty, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Who’s Tommy, School of Rock, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Once, Rock of Ages, The Rocky Horror Show and Shane Warne the Musical. A NIDA graduate, Zoe Ioannou most recently appeared in the Australian tour of Grease, understudying the roles of Sandy, Frenchy and Jan. Other performance credits include Hairspray, West Side Story, The Wizard of Oz and at the Hayes Theare Co, Dubbo Championship Wrestling, Bridges of Madison County and Big Fish. Kaori Maeda-Judge’s varied career has seen her in productions of David Bowie’s Lazarus, White Pearl for Sydney Theatre Company, The Dismissal for Squabbalogic, The Hello Girls and Meg March in Little Women at the Hayes Theatre Co, and Jack Thorne’s Tony Award winning A Christmas Carol, as well as TV’s Neighbours. A recent graduate of QUT, Ruby Shannon is making her professional debut in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). Since graduating, Ruby has collaborated on several independent theatre, film and development projects. Teo Vergara is an actor, singer, dancer and a graduate of the VCA, who made their screen debut in the ABC series Crazy Fun Park and followed this by starring in the queer and gender diverse series Turn Up The Volume for the ABC. Teo was a member of the original Australian cast of Jagged Little Pill, and starred in the original Australian musical Converted! for ATYP.

“It has been a long-held dream to undertake this tour with our take on Austen’s masterpiece,” said writer and original director Isobel McArthur. “This show is a true celebration of love and romance so, now that the match-making is done, I cannot wait to watch Pride & Prejudice* (sort of) and its Australian audiences fall head over heels for each other.”

Co-Director Simon Harvey said, “I am delighted with the stellar cast of Australian talent we have been able to assemble for this production and can’t wait to travel down under to begin rehearsals. I feel sure that the wit, physical comedy and karaoke sound track of Isobel MacArthur’s take on Jane Austen’s timeless classic (sort of), will chime with Aussie audiences.”

Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara PAPSO (c) James Terry.jpg

Ruby Shannon, Zoe Ioannou, Amy Lehpamer, Kaori Maeda-Judge, Teo Vergara.jpg

Direct from its triumph in the West End where it won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a unique and audacious retelling of Jane Austen’s most iconic love story. Men, money and microphones are fought over in this irreverent but affectionate adaptation where the stakes couldn’t be higher when it comes to romance.

This “smart, laugh out loud funny” (Daily Telegraph) show features a string of pop classics including Young Hearts Run Free, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and You’re So Vain. Coming to Australia for the first time, these five fearless women bring Austen’s world of love, class and chaos to life with heart, humour and unstoppable energy in this modern take on one of the world’s most adapted pieces of literature.

★★★★★ “Faithful to the book, it’s also a raucously irreverent romp” – Daily Mail
★★★★★ “Riotously funny… gloriously entertaining… frankly sensational” – Variety
★★★★★ “Layer and layer of brilliance” – The Scotsman

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*sort of)
By Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen
Original production directed by Isobel McArthur
Co-Director Simon Harvey
Produced by Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward Productions by arrangement with David Pugh Limited

SEASON DETAILS

MELBOURNE
Venue: Atheneum Theatre
Season: 18 June – 12 July
Performance Times: Tues-Wed 7pm, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm
Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: ticketmaster.com.au or phone (03) 9650 1500
Groups 8+ visit ticketmaster.com.au
Groups 20+ email groups@ticketmaster.com.au

SYDNEY (Presented by Sydney Opera House)
Venue: Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Season: 16 July – 30 August
Performance Times: Tues-Sun 7pm, Wed & Sat 2pm, Sun 1 or 2pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $69 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/theatre/pride-prejudice-sort-of or (02) 9250 7777
Groups 8 + call (02) 9250 7777

WOLLONGONG (Presented by Merrigong Theatre Company)
Venue: IMB Theatre, IPAC
Season: 2-13 September
Performance Times: Tue 6.30pm, Wed-Thurs 6:30 or 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Thurs 11am, Sat & Sun 1:30pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $84 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: merrigong.com.au or (02) 4224 5999
Groups 8+ call (02) 4224 5999

CANBERRA
Venue: Canberra Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre
Season: 16-27 September
Performance Times: Tues 6:30pm, Wed-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Sat & Sun 1:30pm, Sun 6:30pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $65.90 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: canberratheatrecentre.com.au or (02) 6275 2700
Groups 4+ call (02) 6275 2727

BRISBANE
Venue: Playhouse Theatre, QPAC
Season: 30 September – 18 October
Performance Times: Tues-Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7:30pm, Wed, Thurs & Sat 2pm, Sun 3pm (times vary weekly)
Prices: From $65 (Transaction fees apply)
Bookings: qpac.com.au or phone 136 246
Groups 8+ call (07) 3840 7466

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Cats Has Opened In Brisbane!

The 40th Anniversary Australian tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical CATS opened to thunderous applause and a standing ovation last night at its final destination, the Lyric Theatre, QPAC for a short season until 22 February. A limited number of tickets have been released for each performance so get your tickets now before they are gone! The record-breaking, iconic production has received rapturous audience response and rave reviews across the country.

★★★★★ “Fun, energetic and nostalgic – CATS is the purrfect night at the theatre” – GlamAdelaide
“Inexplicably magical” – First Class Magazine
“Bursting with talent” – Stagenoise
“This fresh production is a great way to celebrate 40 years” – AUReview
“An immersive spectacle” – Sydney Morning Herald
“Electrifying. A spectacle of transformation” – Theatre Thoughts

The coveted role of Grizabella, the former “glamour cat”, is played by Gabriyel Thomas (“Gabriyel Thomas’s rendition of Memory is so hauntingly beautiful it sends shivers down the spine” – Theatre Thoughts), while audience favourite Todd McKenney plays the dual roles of Bustopher Jones and Asparagus the Theatre Cat (“Todd McKenney has the audience in his paw thanks to his comic timing” – Adelaide Advertiser), and classical performer Mark Vincent returns to the musical theatre stage as Old Deuteronomy, the patriarch of the Jellicle tribe (“Mark Vincent brought sonorous gravitas” – Sydney Morning Herald).

Recently seen as Roxie Hart in the sold-out national tour of Chicago, Lucy Maunder has taken on the role of Jellylorum, while the rebellious cat Rum Tum Tugger is Des Flanagan. WAPPA graduate Jarrod Draper plays Munkustrap, and returning to CATS after many years is Leigh Archer as the motherly character Jennyanydots, also known among the tribe as the “Gumbie Cat”.

Jarrod Draper, Todd McKenney in CATS (c) Daniel Boud_128.jpg

The remainder of the company includes Amy Berrisford (playing Demeter), Sarah Bourke (Tantomile), Emily Casey (Cassandra), Mia Dabkowski-Chandler (Bombalurina), Tom Davis (Skimbleshanks), Ella Fitzpatrick (Jemima), Charlie Follows (Bill Bailey), Joshua Gordon (Coricopat), Dominique Hamilton (swing), Tim Haskayne (Mr Mistoffelees), Claudia Hastings (Victoria/ White Cat), Aimee Jones (swing), Savannah Lind (Rumpleteazer), Joe Miller (swing), Jake O’Brien (Mungojerrie), Xavier Pellin (swing), Guy Pik (Carbuckety), Rania Potaka-Osborne (Alonzo), Edward Smith (Admetus/ Macavity), Thalia Smith (swing) and Tod Strike (swing).

“I’m thrilled to bring this 40th Anniversary Australian tour of CATS to Melbourne and Brisbane with the most fabulous cast,” said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live. “CATS was revolutionary when it began 40 years ago and Australia has an enduring love for the show. Now it’s time to let the memory live again. Melbourne, queue up to grab your tickets before they sell out as it’s only in town for five weeks!”

Based on T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS has been captivating audiences around the globe since it opened at the New London Theatre (now known as the Gillian Lynne) in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances, winning both the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. Since then, CATS has been presented in over 50 countries, translated into 23 languages and has been seen by over 81 million people world-wide. On Broadway, CATS played for 18 years and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical.

The musical tells the story of the Jellicle cat tribe. On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to “The Heaviside Layer” and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

The timeless musical score includes the hit song Memory, which has been recorded by more than 150 artists including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Nicole Scherzinger, Johnny Mathis, Liberace and Barry Manilow. With “timeless music, spectacular sets and a superb cast” (Daily Mirror), breathtaking choreography and of course the unforgettable Memory, CATS is a magical musical like no other.

Get your tickets now for this iconic musical at catsthemusical.com.au and let the memory live again.

BRISBANE SEASON
Venue: Lyric Theatre, QPAC
Season: To 22 February
Performance Times: Tues-Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7.30pm, Wed 1pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 1pm & 6pm
Bookings: catsthemusical.com.au

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