Direct from entertaining the nation with her infectious energy and joie de vivre on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Eighties’ pop star and punk princess Toyah Willcox is to return to the stage, joining the cast of the brand new musical NOW That’s What I Call A Musical as a special guest at the Edinburgh Playhouse.
It’s Birmingham, 1989. Two school friends, Gemma and April, are busy with very important business – planning their lives based on Number One Magazine quizzes and dreaming of snogging Rick Astley. Cut to Birmingham 2009 and it’s the most dreaded event of their lives– the school reunion. Drama, old flames and receding hairlines come together as friends reunite and everything from the past starts to slot into place. The biggest question is: what was with all that hairspray?
NOW That’s What I Call A Musical a brand-new musical written by award-winning comedian Pippa Evans and directed and choreographed by Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood began performances last month and comes to the Edinburgh Playhouse from 25 February-1 March 2025, with Toyah as a very special guest.
Toyah joins the array of special guest stars playing themselves and singing the songs that made them NOW icons in the new musical. Toyah appears in Edinburgh, elsewhere, in 2024 Sinitta will perform in Aylesbury, Sheffield, Canterbury, Nottingham and Norwich, with Sonia in Newcastle, Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Brighton, Carol Decker in Truro, Belfast and Woking, and Jay Osmond in Bradford. In 2025 Sinitta will be appearing in Dublin, Hull and York with Sonia in Southampton, Manchester, Southend, Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, Wimbledon and Birmingham and Carol Decker in Oxford.
NOW That’s What I Call Music stars Nina Wadia as Gemma, Melissa Jacques as April up to and including 7 December 2024 and Sam Bailey who takes over the role from 14 January to 12 April 2025. Joining them will be Kieran Cooper as Younger Tim, Christopher Glover as Dad, Chris Grahamson as Tim, Maia Hawkins as Younger April, Lauren Hendricks as Ms Dorian, Shakil Hussain as Frank, Nikita Johal as Younger Gemma, Luke Latchman as Younger Frank, Matthew Mori as Younger Steve, Phil Sealey as Steve, Callum Tempest as Barney and Poppy Tierney as Mum. The cast is completed by Emily Barnett-Salter, Molly Cheesley, Lizzy Ives, Stefanos Petri, Martha Pothen and Blake Tuke.
No stranger to musical theatre, Toyah’s stage credits already include The Rocky Horror Show: 40th Anniversary Tribute, The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Calamity Jane, The Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Trafford Tanzi and Cabaret. A uniquely gifted performer, having amassed 13 Top 40 singles, recorded 25 albums, written two books as well as appearing in more than 60 stage plays and films, Toyah has won numerous awards and scored Top 40 hits with singles such as It’s A Mystery, I Want to Be Free and Brave New World. In 1982 she won the Best Female Singer Award at the British Rock & Pop Awards, which later became The Brits.
So, roll back the years and get ready to relive the playlist of your life by celebrating 40 years of the iconic and chart-topping compilations brand NOW That’s What I Call Music, which has sold an estimated 200 million copies worldwide. Expect a fun-filled evening bursting with hits from Blondie, Tears For Fears, Spandau Ballet, Eurythmics and so many more.
Tickets for Edinburgh with Toyah Willcox here.
Full tour dates and tickets here.
