Yahoo News Potter star joins first all-black Guys and Dolls cast
Harry Potter and Strictly Come Dancing star Ray Fearon has joined the first all-black cast of Guys and Dolls in the UK.
The actor, who played centaur Firenze in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and voiced Père Robert in the recent live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, will take on the lead role of Nathan Detroit in the reimagining of the musical.
Fearon was the first black actor in four decades to play the title role in Othello at Stratford-upon-Avon back in 1999, and has also appeared in The Bill, EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Guys and Dolls follows hustlers Nathan Detroit (Ray Fearon) and Sky Masterson (Ashley Zhangazha), who settle every dispute with a roll of the dice.
Director Michael Buffong said: "Pre-war Harlem was all about the hustle.
"The creativity of that era was born from a unique collision of talent and circumstance as people escaped the agricultural and oppressive South via the 'underground railroad' into the highly urbanised and industrialised North.
"Much of our popular culture, from dance to music, has its roots in that period. Our Guys and Dolls brings all of this to the fore, in superb, celebratory style."
The new Guys and Dolls has been developed with award-winning hip-hop dancer and choreographer Kenrick 'H20' Sandy and will run from December 2 to January 27 at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre.
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