Leeds Playhouse and Opera North have announced a ‘loverly’ cast for their co-production of Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical My Fair Lady, with leading soprano Katie Bird and star of stage and screen John Hopkins in the leading roles of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins.

The revival of the award-winning musical plays in Leeds Playhouse’s Quarry Theatre from 31 May – 29 June.

John played Dr “Smokey” Stover in Apple TV’s latest hit Masters of the Air, Sir Francis Basset in BBC One’s Poldark and Sergeant Dan Scott in the hit TV series Midsomer Murders and also starred as Scrooge in Bristol Old Vic’s acclaimed production of A Christmas Carol. He now takes on the role of phonetician Henry Higgins, returning to Leeds where he studied English at the University of Leeds.

Katie studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Royal Academy of Music and the National Opera Studio. Her operatic roles include Mimì in La bohème and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for Opera North, Suzel in L’amico Fritz for Opera Holland Park, The Governess in The Turn of the Screw for Northern Ireland Opera, and Masha and Chloe in The Queen of Spades for English National Opera. She is currently a member of Opera North’s highly acclaimed chorus. She will now take on the role of Eliza Doolittle, singing some of the most popular songs in musical theatre, such as “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?”, “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Just You Wait”.

James Brining, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse and Director of My Fair Lady, said: “I’m delighted with the talent we have brought together to re-tell this well-loved story.  With exceptional acting talent and incredibly accomplished singers as well as an exquisite orchestra featuring more than 30 players, our collaboration with Opera North should be a sumptuous feast for the senses.”

The production has a principal cast of 9 performers, with several roles taken by artists from the Chorus of Opera North, the Company’s full-time professional ensemble.  Guest principals joining this production alongside John Hopkins are Mark Burghagen as Professor Zoltan Karpathy who returns to performing with Opera North after playing Leopold in Der Rosenkavalier; and Ahmed Hamad as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, whose most recent roles include Sunset Boulevard (Savoy Theatre), Standing At The Sky’s Edge (National Theatre/Sheffield Crucible), and The Boy in the Dress (RSC).

Recently seen as Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring at Opera North, this will be the first time long-standing chorus member Richard Mosley-Evans performs at the Playhouse as he takes on the role of Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle; while Dean Robinson, as Colonel Pickering, returns to the Playhouse following roles in Into the Woods, and A Little Night Music.

The role of Mrs Eynsford-Hill will be played by Molly Barker, who joined the Chorus of Opera North in 2022 and has been an Emerging Artist at the National Opera Studio. For Opera North, she has played Mrs Segstrom in A Little Night Music (co-production with Leeds Playhouse), Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, Esquire in Parsifal, and Lolette in La Rondine. Miranda Bevin, who takes on the role of Mrs Higgins, was last seen at the Playhouse as Mrs Nordstrom in A Little Night Music, with other recent Opera North roles including Greta Fiorentino in Street Scene; while Helen Évora, who plays Mrs Pearce, played Justine in Orpheus in the Record Shop (filmed for BBC 4), Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods and Countess Charlotte in A Little Night Music, both previous co-production by the Playhouse and Opera North.

Joining James in the creative team are Set & Costume Designer Madeleine Boyd (Opera North’s Don Giovanni, The Turn of the Screw and La traviata); Choreographer Lucy Hind (Oliver! Leeds Playhouse, Girl from the North Country, (WestEnd/Broadway); Musical Director/Conductor Oliver Rundell; Lighting Designer Guy Hoare; Sound Designer Seb Frost; Dialect Coach Eleanor Manners; Associate Choreographer Llandyll Gove; Casting Director Annalie Powell; Assistant Director Rosie Kat; Assistant Conductor Daniel Hogan; and Chief Repetiteur Annette Saunders.

Featuring Frederick Loewe’s ravishing score and a wonderfully witty book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, the musical follows Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a “proper lady”. But who is really being transformed?

The production features the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North with additional guest artists performing a beautiful score including the classic songs “Get Me to the Church on Time”, “On the Street Where You Live,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,”.

Recent musical theatre collaborations between Leeds Playhouse and Opera North include critically-acclaimed revivals of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (2016) and A Little Night Music (2021/22) plus Orpheus in the Record Shop by Leeds-based writer, composer and beatboxer Testament which was filmed for BBC 4s Lights Up series.   

This strong ongoing partnership between the two Leeds cultural giants will see the Playhouse’s Artistic Director James Brining direct this much-loved musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal‘s motion picture Pygmalion.