Victoria Hamilton-Barritt to Star in the West End's Flashdance The Musical

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt and Matt Willis are set to star in the West End production of Flashdance The Musical. The show, based on the 1983 movie, is directed by Nikolai Foster and features choreography by Arlene Phillips. It will begin performances at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre on September 24, with opening night set for October 11.

Set in Pittsburgh, Flashdance The Musical tells the story of 19-year-old Alex, a welder by day and “flashdancer” by night, whose dream is to obtain a place at the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy. The musical is about holding on to your dreams and love against all the odds.

Hamilton-Barritt will play Alex, and Willis will play Nick. They are joined by Sarah Ingram (Hannah ), Charlotte Harwood (Gloria), Hannah Levane (Keisha) and Twinnie-Lee Moore (Jazmin) with Brendan Cull, Russell Dixon, Sam Mackay, Ricky Rojas, Andrew Spillett and Robbie White, as well as Ivan Blackstock, Tyman Boatwright, Myles Brown, Joseph Conner, Natalie Edmunds, Nicholas Gilligan, Zoe Green, James Hall, Ben Harrold, Emily Hawgood, Kirby Huges, Sia Kiwa, Lindsay Shaw, Maria Swainson, Amy Thornton and Daniel Uppal.

Hamilton-Barritt created the role of Alex for the U.K. tour of Flashdance The Musical. Her other theater credits include Grease, Mamma Mia!, Fame, Desperately Seeking Susan, Saturday Night Fever and West Side Story Her film credits include A Bunch of Amateurs and A Tale of Two Cities.

Willis was a founder member of the British pop rock band Busted, after which he embarked on a solo career, releasing the singles “Up All Night,” “Hey Kid” and “Don’t Let It Go to Waste” as well as a cover version of The Primitives’ song “Crash” for the feature film Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Willis went on to win the 2006 ITV series of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

Written by Tom Hedley (who co-wrote the film with Joe Eszterhas) and Robert Cary, with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Robbie Roth, Flashdance features an iconic score including “Maniac,” “Manhunt,” “Gloria,” “I Love Rock and Roll” and the Academy Award-winning title track “Flashdance - What a Feeling,” as well as 14 new songs written specially for the musical by Cary and Roth. The production features orchestrations and musical supervision by Phil Edwards.