Birds of a Feather star Lesley Joseph to play Miss Hannigan in Annie once again

Lesley, who is best known for playing Dorien Green in Birds of a Feather, is set to join Alex Bourne as Oliver Warbucks, Richard Meek as Rooster, Jenny Gayner as Lily and Carolyn Maitland as Grace Farrell.

The part of Annie will be shared by Faye Katsande, Ava Smith and Freya Yates, who will be joined by three teams of young performers playing the orphans.

The hugely popular musical is set in New York during The Great Depression of the 1930s. It tells the story of an upbeat orphan named Annie who is forced to live a ‘hard-knock life’ at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage.

She’s determined to find her real parents, and billionaire Oliver Warbucks chooses Annie to spend Christmas at his home and tries to help.

However, the wicked Miss Hannigan starts scheming and decides to ruin Annie’s search.

Along with Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, Lesley Joseph starred in more than 100 episodes of Birds of a Feather from 1989 to 1998. The show then returned in 2014 for three more series.

A spokesperson said: “Lesley most recently appeared as Frau Blucher in the West End production of the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Her other theatre credits include Miss Hannigan in Annie at the West End’s Victoria Palace and also on national tour as well as the touring productions of Calendar Girls and Thoroughly Modern Mille.”

Tickets cost £46.50-£49.50. Family of four: £146. Call the box office on 01293 553636.

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