SINGIN’IN THE RAIN

Ashley is thrilled to be back in Paris after starring as Nicky Arnstein in Funny Girl at the Théâtre Marigny. Most recently, he starred as Anatole in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. West End; Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street, Jerry Mulligan in An American in Paris, The Book of Mormon (Playing Elder Price over 250 times) The Wizard of Oz, On the Town, Evita, Original cast of Mary Poppins, Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker and Oliver! US Credits; Freddy falls in Love (Joyce NY) White Christmas (Ogunquit playhouse and 5th Avenue Seattle) Drowsy Chaperone (PCLO) Love Around the Block (NY) Other UK Credits; Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in Kiss Me, Kate, Curly in Oklahoma! for which he received a nomination for Best Performer in a Musical at the UK Theatre Awards, Troy Bolton in High School Musical, Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Irving in Babes in Arms

On screen, Ashley is known for his recurring role as Colin McNaughton in Netflix’s Dynasty.

Maddie Waller is a musical theater artist who trained at Laine Theatre Arts, from which she graduated in 2024. Throughout her career, she has appeared in several productions in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Her major credits include Singin’ in the Rain on tour in China, where she was the understudy for Kathy Selden; Pretty Woman: The Musical in Zurich; and Chicago: The Musical, in which she made her professional debut in the role of Liz and as the understudy for Velma Kelly during the European tour. She also played Elizabeth Page in the concert production Bettie Page, Queen of the Pin-Ups – The Musical at the Lyric Theatre.

On the big screen, Maddie appears as a dancer in the film Better Man, produced by Partizan and Paramount.

Charlie Waddell holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in Musical Theater from ArtsEd London. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself in numerous productions in the United Kingdom and on international tours.

His major credits include Mary Poppins (UK and Ireland tour), Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre, Gypsy, Stephen Sondheim’s Passion, South Pacific at the Chichester Festival Theatre and on tour, High Society, The Phantom of the Opera on European tour, and Leonard Bernstein’s Mass at the Southbank Centre.

He also appeared in the concert Outlaws: The Ballad of Billy the Kid at The Other Palace and in the development workshop for the new play The Whistling.

Natasha O’Brien is a Canadian artist based in London, known for her career in the West End and on international stages. Trained at the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts in Toronto, she began her career at a very young age with the Original Kids Theatre Company in Canada.

Her major credits include Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre and on international tour, Aspects of Love, Falsettos, as well as the world premieres of Starter for Ten and 50 First Dates, directed by Casey Nicholaw. In Canada, she has also appeared in Annie, Honk!, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, A Christmas Carol, The Buddy Holly Story, and Seussical.

On screen, Natasha appears in the Netflix series The Witcher

Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd (Birmingham Rep); Molotov in Churchill in Moscow (Orange Tree Theatre); Diebner in Farm Hall (UK Tour &Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End); Lance in & Juliet(Shaftesbury Theatre & Regent Theatre, Melbourne); Alone in Berlin (Royal & Derogate); Max Bialystock in The Producers (Manchester Royal Exchange); Lord Allworthy in What’s New Pussycat? (Birmingham Rep) ; Boris Simeonov-Pischik The Cherry Orchard (Bristol Old Vic/Manchester Royal Exchange); Barry Fife in Strictly Ballroom (West Yorkshire Playhouse & Toronto); Mr Hopkins in Made in Dagenham (Adelphi Theatre); Louis VI in Eternal Love, Thomas Cromwell in Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare’s Globe/ ETT/UK Tour); Ross in Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); Mr Bumble in Oliver! (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Henry IV Parts I&II, Henry V, Henry VI Parts I, II & III, Richard III, Great Expectations, Dog in the Manger, Tamar’s Revenge, House of Desires, Pedro the Great Pretender (all for the Royal Shakespeare Company). TELEVISION INCLUDES Bridgerton Season 3 (Netflix); The Crown Series 1&2 (Netflix); The Ten Commandments (Hallmark); Highlander (Gaumont Television). RADIO INCLUDES Thomas Hardy’s Jude The Obscure (BBC Radio 4); Van Gogh: The Letters (BBC Radio 4) with Mark Rylance

Russell trained at Bird College and has enjoyed a career spanning more than 35 years across theatre, film, television and advertising. His theatre credits include productions for the National Theatre – Exit the King, NT50, Selma, One Man Two Guvnors, She Stoops to Conquer and Lady in the Dark, All My Sons at the Old Vic, and numerous West End productions including The Book Thief, Billy Elliot, Annie, I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change, Maddie, Sunset Boulevard, Sweet Charity and Hard Times. Other stage work includes Come Fall In Love, The Singing Revolution, RedcliRe, Bonnie & Clyde the Concert, High Society, The Producers, Bat Boy, The Sound of Music, Aspects of Love and Barnum. Screen credits include The Sandman, 6 Underground, Batman Begins, Holmes and Watson, Grantchester, 24: Live Another Day, Doctors and Waking the Dead. Voice Over work includes The Radio and Mars Machines. Advertising campaigns range from Colgate & Vauxhall to Vodafone & Vision Express. Russell is delighted to be joining the company of Singing in the Rain at Theatre du Lido Paris.

TRAINED: London Studio Centre

Daniele is a West End Musical Theatre actor and is well known in the industry for playing leading and supporting roles.

West End: The Witches (National Theatre), La Cage Aux Folles (Regents Park), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Palace Theatre, London), The Sound of Music (London Palladium), Acorn Antiques The Musical (Theatre Royal Haymarket, London), My Fair Lady (National Theatre / Drury Lane, London), Beauty and the Beast (Dominion, London), Oliver (London Palladium), Sunset Boulevard (Adelphi Theatre, London).

National and international:  Acorn Antiques The Musical (Manchester and Shaftesbury Theatre London), Menopause the Musical 2 (UK and Ireland Tour), Romeo and Juliet (Theatre of the Emirates), Come Dine With Me The Musical, Elf, Mum’s The Word, Just So and Out of this World, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Wild Wild Women. Also various pantomimes across the UK.

Repertory: Pardon Me Prime Minister, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Abigail’s Party, Boeing Boeing, Pools Paradise, Private Lives, Caught in the Net, Birthday Suite, Lend me a Tenor, Perfect Wedding, Charley’sAunt, Emma, Barefoot in the Park, Ghost Train, Sailor Beware.

Commercials: Boots, Runners Need, White Lightening, Tiscali Broadband.

Born in Canada, Robert Carsen trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before moving into direction for theatre, opera and musical comedy, and lighting, set design, and exhibition direction and design.

His productions in theatre and musicals include the Theban trilogy by Sophocles for the Teatro Greco in Siracusa; Jedermann for the Salzburg Festival; Cabaret for Lido du  Paris; The Tempest at the Comédie-Française; Mother Courage and Her Children at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan; Tom Stopard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at the Roundabout Theatre in New York; Lady Windermere’s Fan at the Bristol Old Vic; the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game in London’s West End and Sunset Boulevard for a UK tour; as well as Candide, My Fair Lady and Singin’ in the Rain at the Théâtre du Châtelet, both in Paris and on tour.

His most recent opera productions include Cosi fan Tutte at La Scala; Janaček’s The Adventures of Mr. Brouček in Berlin and Brno, Rameau’s Les Fêtes d’Hébé at the Opéra Comique. Also Aida, Falstaff and Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Peter Grimes, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Don Giovanni, and La fanciulla del West and at La Scala, Milan; Mefistofele, Eugene Onegin, Falstaff and Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera; Il trovatore at the Bregenz Festival;13 productions for the Paris Opéra, (including Ariodante, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Rusalka, Capriccio, Les Boréades and Die Zauberflöte); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Orlando, Die Zauberflöte, Semele and Rigoletto at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Der Rosenkavalier, Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and La Clemenza di Tito at the Salzburg Festival. Other productions include Ariadne auf Naxos in Munich; Der Ring des Nibelungen in Cologne, Venice, Shanghai, Barcelona and Madrid; Rinaldo and L‘incoronazione di Poppea in Glyndebourne; La traviata for the reopening of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

Robert Carsen has also worked as artistic director and designer of many exhibitions in Paris, at the Grand Palais, the Musée d’Orsay, the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the Musée Galliera; the Art Institute of Chicago and the Royal Academy in London. For Chanel and Fendi, he conceived, staged, designed and filmed Karl For Ever – a celebration of Karl Lagerfeld’s life – at the Grand Palais.

He is a Commandeur of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Officer of the Order of Canada. He received the International Opera Award for “Best Production” in 2025 and for “Best Director” in 2021, the Prix du Syndicat français de la critique (three times), the Italian Premio Abbiati (five times) and the Spanish Premio Ópera XXI. In 2023 he received the first Grand Prix de l’Académie des beaux-arts in Paris.

Future new productions include the exhibition Gustave Fayet, Collectionneur et Createur at the Fondation Vuitton in Paris; Le Nozze di Figaro in Madrid and at the Met; and Werther at the Opera National de Paris.

His theatre credits include The Last Ship (International Tour), Grease (German and European Tours), Jedermann(Salzburg Festival), Bhangra Nation (Birmingham Rep – Musical Stager and Additional Choreography), Farewell Mr Haffman (Ustinov Studio), The Third Man (Menier Chocolate Factory), Berlusconi (Southwark Playhouse), Cabaret(Gothenburg Opera), Lady in the Dark (Opera Zuid), The Louder We Get (Theatre Calgary, Canada), The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ (West End and Menier Chocolate Factory), Man of La Mancha (English National Opera, London Coliseum), Moulin Rouge! (Broadway and West End – Associate Choreographer), The Wizard of Oz (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Ruthless (West End), Barnum, She Loves Me (Menier Chocolate Factory), City of Angels (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Mamma Mia! (Municipal Theatre of Cyprus), The Country Girls (Chichester Festival Theatre), Spamalot, The Glass Menagerie (English Theatre Frankfurt), The Life of the Party (TheatreWorks, San Francisco), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Waterloo East Theatre) and Tommy: The Rock Opera (Blackpool Opera House).

Selected Opera Credits

His opera credits include Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and Salzburg Festival), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera North), The Bartered Bride (Irish National Opera), Così fan tutte (Teatro alla Scala), Don Quixote (Lausanne Opera), Jedermann (Salzburg Festival), L’Elisir d’Amore (Garsington Opera), Aida (Royal Opera House, 2025 revival), Platée (Garsington Opera), The Excursions of Mr. Brouček (Staatsoper Berlin), Peter Grimes(Teatro alla Scala), Giulio Cesare (Teatro alla Scala), Die tote Stadt (Komische Oper Berlin), The Beggar’s Opera(Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris and tour) and Falstaff (Royal Opera House).

Luis F. Carvalho is an internationally renowned Set and Costume Designer whose work spans opera, theatre, dance, television, film and fashion. Born and raised in Portugal, he moved to London in the early 1990s to study Theatre Design at Wimbledon School of Art before continuing his training in Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins College.

His major design credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Teatro Real, Madrid), Così fan tutte (Teatro alla Scala), Jedermann (Salzburg Festival), Oedipus in Colonus and Oedipus Rex (Greek Theatre of Syracuse), Lady Macbeth (Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam), The Jewess of Toledo (Semperoper Dresden), Werther (Festspielhaus Baden-Baden), The Strangers (Cologne Opera), Ariodante (Opéra national de Paris – Palais Garnier), Cabaret (Lido, Paris), Peter Grimes (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Opéra national de Paris – Palais Garnier; Teatro Real, Madrid), Un ballo in maschera (Pamplona), Julius Caesar (Opera di Roma), Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo (Theater an der Wien), Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), L’Elisir d’Amore (Opera Zuid), Les Vêpres siciliennes (Opera di Roma), Oceane (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Idomeneo (Teatro Real, Madrid), Carmen (Wuppertal Opera and Opera di Roma), Ein Maskenball (Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden), Un Bal Masqué (Opéra national de Lorraine, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Opera Zuid), Elektra (Teatro Nacional de São Carlos), La Fanciulla del West (Teatro alla Scala), The Turn of the Screw (Opéra national du Rhin), Run Mary Run (Sadler’s Wells) and La Bohème(Opera Zuid).

His film and television credits include the set designs for the 2016 and 2017 editions of BBC Proms – 10 Pieces (BBC), as well as Fall Forever by Ray Grant, Close Up (dance short film), the premiere events for Moulin Rouge (Tobacco Dock, London), Pearl Harbor (University College London) and Toy Story 2 (Odeon London).

Finn Ross is the recipient of two Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, three Drama Desk Awards and four WhatsOnStage Awards. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

His recent theatre credits include BOOP! (Broadway), Hello, Dolly! (West End), Tammy Faye and Spring Awakening(Almeida Theatre), My Neighbour Totoro (Royal Shakespeare Company), Back to the Future (West End, Broadway and international productions), Frozen (West End, Broadway and international productions), Les Misérables (West End and international productions), Mean Girls (West End and Broadway), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (West End and Broadway), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Broadway, West End and tour), Jagged Little Pill(American Repertory Theater), American Psycho (Almeida Theatre and Broadway), Chimerica (Almeida Theatre and West End), The Tempest (Royal Shakespeare Company and the Barbican), and The Master and Margarita, All My Sonsand Shunkin for Complicité.

His opera credits include The Hours (The Metropolitan Opera, New York), Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny(Royal Opera House), Missa Solemnis (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Benvenuto Cellini, The Death of Klinghoffer and The Damnation of Faust (English National Opera), Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte and A Dog’s Heart (Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam), La Clemenza di Tito and The Excursions of Mr. Brouček (Opera North), Les Pêcheurs de Perles and The Turn of the Screw (Theater an der Wien), and Rinaldo (Glyndebourne Festival).

His dance work includes video design for Cinderella (The Royal Ballet), Anna Karenina (Joffrey Ballet), The Nutcracker(Atlanta Ballet) and The Feeling of Going (Skånes Dansteater).

Finn Ross has also collaborated with a wide range of artists and live music events, including Glass Animals (tour), Sodagreen (tour), Declan McKenna (Reading & Leeds Festival 2023), Lewis Capaldi (2022 tour), Azimuth (AlUla), Coldplay (Music of the Spheres), Sam Fender (Seventeen Going Under), Foals (Life Is Yours), Mark Ronson (Late Night Feelings), J Balvin (Fortnitemares for Fortnite), an installation for W Hotels in Guangzhou, China, and the touring exhibition The Rolling Stones – Exhibitionism.

Born in Naples, he studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

His recent lighting design credits include La Forza del Destino (Verdi Festival, Parma), Otello (Oscarsborg Opera, Norway), L’Elisir d’Amore (open-air production, AsLiCo – Lake Como), Oedipus Rex (Syracuse Festival), Un Ballo in Maschera (Verdi Festival, Parma and Copenhagen Opera), La Fille du Régiment (Oscarsborg Opera, Norway), La Traviata and Il Trovatore (Teatro alla Verdura, Palermo), Farnace (La Fenice, Venice), Ernani (streaming production, Teatro Massimo Palermo), Zaide (Opera di Roma and AsLiCo), Parsifal (Teatro Massimo Palermo), Ermione (Teatro San Carlo, Naples), Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera di Roma), Die tote Stadt (Teatro alla Scala), Semiramide (Rossini Opera Festival), Carmen and Die Zauberflöte (Sferisterio di Macerata), Oedipus at Colonus (Greek Theatre of Syracuse and Epidaurus), La Bohème (Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Abbiati Prize 2018), Raymonda (Royal Danish Ballet), Stiffelio (Verdi Festival, Parma, Abbiati Prize 2017), Ipermnestra (Glyndebourne Festival), My Fair Ladyand Singin’ in the Rain (Chicago, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, and Mariinsky Theatre), the Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isoldeand Anna Bolena (Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon), Le Nozze di Figaro and Idomeneo (Gothenburg Opera and Lithuanian National Opera), Fidelio and Falstaff (Bucharest), and Morgen und Abend (Royal Opera House, London, and Staatsoper Berlin).

He has also created numerous site-specific productions for Birmingham Opera, including Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Wake, Dido and Aeneas, The Ice Break, Khovanshchina, Mittwoch aus Licht, Life is a Dream, Otello and Idomeneo.

Other notable productions include Tristan und Isolde (Megaron, Athens), Macbeth (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), War and Peace, The Makropulos Affair and Boris Godunov (Mariinsky Theatre), Curro Vargas (Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid – Premios Líricos Teatro Campoamor 2014), Die Zauberflöte (Bolshoi Theatre), Das Rheingold (Abbiati Prize 2013), Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung and Anna Bolena (Teatro Massimo Palermo), as well as Mosè in Egitto and Guillaume Tell (Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro).

Unisson Design is a sound design company dedicated to redefining the role of amplified sound and placing it at the heart of live performance.

Today, sound reinforcement is often criticised in musical theatre and stage productions. When it fails to serve the artistic vision, it becomes an obstacle rather than a support, creating an invisible barrier between the performer and the audience.

Conversely, when it is used with balance and sensitivity, sound design becomes a true creative partner, enhancing the performance while remaining faithful to the artistic intent. This pursuit of precision and collaboration lies at the core of Unisson Design’s philosophy.

Unisson Design is also built on the strength of collaboration. Founded by sound designers Cyril Auclair and Léonard Françon, the company works alongside a network of leading professionals in the field of live sound.

Drawing on many years of experience with both French and international productions, and a deep understanding of live performance, Unisson Design has earned a reputation for excellence and artistic quality.

Recent productions include Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, Hello, Dolly!, Cabaret and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Théâtre du Lido in Paris; Gypsy at the Philharmonie de Paris; Company for Génération Opéra; Zazie dans le Métro at the MCA in Amiens; Peau d’Âne; Funny Girl at the Théâtre Marigny; La Cage aux Folles; Les Misérables; 42nd Street at the Théâtre du Châtelet; Les Misérables on tour in France and Canada; and collaborations with Bartabas at La Seine Musicale on The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky and Mozart’s Requiem.

As Musical Supervisor, Alan Berry has worked on Come From Away (Abbey Theatre, Dublin; Phoenix Theatre, London; UK Tour; and Cunard Productions).

As Associate Musical Supervisor, his credits include Bank of Dave (Curve Theatre, Leicester and The Lowry), Groundhog Day (Princess Theatre, Melbourne), Girl From the North Country (The Public Theater, New York), Matilda the Musical (International Tour) and Avenue Q (UK Tour).

As Musical Director, his credits include Matilda the Musical (Shanghai Grand Theatre), A Christmas Carol (The Old Vic), A Knight’s Tale (Manchester Opera House), Redlands (Chichester Festival Theatre), Hairspray (London Coliseum), Come From Away (Abbey Theatre, Dublin and Phoenix Theatre, London), A Little Princess (Royal Festival Hall), Girl From the North Country (The Old Vic and Noël Coward Theatre), Big Fish (The Other Palace), Ghost the Musical(International Tour), Groundhog Day (The Old Vic), The Commitments (Palace Theatre), Matilda the Musical (Cambridge Theatre), Avenue Q (Wyndham’s Theatre and Gielgud Theatre), and Little Shop of Horrors (Menier Chocolate Factory, Duke of York’s Theatre and New Ambassadors Theatre).

As Associate Musical Director and Resident Conductor, he has worked on A Christmas Carol (Comedy Theatre, Melbourne), Local Hero (Chichester Minerva Theatre), Tammy Faye (Almeida Theatre), Shrek the Musical (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Matilda the Musical (Courtyard Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company), Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre), Spamalot (Palace Theatre), Aladdin (The Old Vic) and Kiss Me, Kate (UK Tour).

His awards include the 2019 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music for Come From Away, as well as the 2019 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Musical Direction for the same production.

His television and radio credits include the Royal Variety Performance, the Laurence Olivier Awards, Children in Need, 4 Poofs & a Piano and Friday Night Is Music Night.

He also worked on the original cast recordings of Girl From the North Country, Matilda the Musical and Treason: The Musical in Concert.

Pianist, répétiteur, vocal coach, chorus master and conductor, Stéphane Petitjean has built a distinguished career across every facet of musical direction.

He began as the recital partner of Natalie Dessay before working as vocal coach and assistant to Pierre Boulez, Plácido Domingo, Philippe Jordan, Kent Nagano and Sir Simon Rattle. His career has taken him to leading opera houses and festivals around the world, from Aix-en-Provence to Tokyo, via Amsterdam, Madrid, Los Angeles and Munich, where he conducted L’Enfant et les Sortilèges.

From leading the Radio France Chorus in works by Verdi and Wagner at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, he has gone on to conduct and collaborate on major musical productions at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre Mogador and the Théâtre du Lido, including My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, Singin’ in the Rain, 42nd Street, Chicago, Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles.

Léo Laloge is a young composer and arranger who trained with Thierry Escaich, Thibault Perrine and Cyrille Lehn at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), where he was awarded prizes in harmony, fugue, counterpoint, and 20th- and 21st-century composition techniques.

In demand for numerous transcriptions and arrangements, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists and ensembles, including Pene Pati, Félicien Brut, the Philia Trio, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre national Avignon-Provence and the Orchestre de Picardie.

His arrangements have been performed at prestigious venues and festivals in France and abroad, including the Philharmonie de Paris, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, La Folle Journée de Nantes, Un Violon sur le Sable and the Liederhalle in Stuttgart.

While continuing his advanced studies in composition at the CNSMDP, he also studies orchestration, conducting and analysis.

Following Les Demoiselles de Rochefort last season, Léo is particularly delighted to be working once again with the Théâtre du Lido teams on this new production of Singin’ in the Rain.

After studying Modern Literature at university, Christophe Gayral trained at the École Nationale de la Rue Blanche (ENSATT) in Paris from 1986 to 1989. He then embarked on an eighteen-year career as an actor, collaborating on numerous theatrical productions across a wide variety of repertoires and genres. His deliberately eclectic career has encompassed classical and contemporary theatre, puppet theatre, street theatre, cabaret, contemporary dance and choral performance.

Director and Personal Projects

Alongside his acting career, Christophe Gayral began developing his own work as a theatre and opera director in 2000.

In 2000, he co-wrote the equestrian opera Le Grand Carrousel, commissioned by the City of Brussels. The following year, he wrote, performed in and directed Jai Mata Di, a production for and with musicians and Indian puppeteers in New Delhi, which subsequently toured throughout India.

In 2002, he directed his first opera production in Belgium at the Alden Biesen Festival with Otto Nicolai’s Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. During the same period, he worked with young singers from the conservatoires of Antwerp and Ghent, writing two pasticcios, Piscina Tranquilla and Barock-Kiss. He also directed L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, The Telephone and La Serva Padrona.

In 2005, he returned to the Alden Biesen Festival to direct the world premiere of Andrew Wise’s contemporary children’s opera The Fable of Ooh and Aah. In 2010, he began a long-standing collaboration with the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg, directing Cimarosa’s Il Matrimonio Segreto. The production was revived at the Opéra de Rennes in 2011 and again in Strasbourg in 2015.

In 2013, he directed Britten’s Owen Wingrave at the Opéra National du Rhin, which was revived at the Opéra de Besançon in 2014. He returned to the Opéra National du Rhin in 2016 to direct Mozart’s Idomeneo, before staging another Mozart opera, Così fan tutte, in Saint-Étienne in 2019. He created two new productions for La Fenice: La Traviata in 2020 and Vivaldi’s Farnace in 2021. In 2022, he directed Handel’s Radamisto for the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco. In 2023, Così fan tutte was revived at the Opéra de Toulon, followed by a new production of La Bohème for the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago.

Artistic Collaborator

Since 2003, Christophe Gayral has also worked as Artistic Collaborator to Robert Carsen, contributing to more than fifteen productions and overseeing many of their international revivals. These include Ariodante (Palais Garnier, Paris), Dialogues des Carmélites (Valencia, Turin, Milan and Amsterdam), The Beggar’s Opera (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris), Agrippina (Rouen), Rigoletto (Aix-en-Provence, Strasbourg and Brussels), La Traviata (La Fenice, from 2004 to 2018), Iphigénie en Tauride (Chicago, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées), and Orfeo ed Euridice.

Jack McCann is a multi-award-nominated director and actor whose work spans musical theatre, opera, theatre, concerts and cabaret.

As a director, his credits include Annie (Middle East Tour), Awaiting You (The Other Palace), Wayne Sleep’s Beautiful World (Charing Cross Theatre), On the Town (Italia Conti), Sweet Charity (Italia Conti) and While the Sun Shines(Sidmouth Summer Play Festival).

As an Associate Director, he has worked on Oklahoma! (Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Putting It Together (Playground Theatre), The Choir of Man (International Tour), The Witches of Eastwick (Sondheim Theatre), Don Giovanni (Nevill Holt Opera), A Song for Nature (Sky Arts), All On Her Own (stream.theatre), The Man in the Ceiling (Turbine Theatre) and 57th National Mathlete Sum-It (Stockwell Playhouse).

As an actor, he has performed as Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me, Kate (Northern Ireland Opera), Billy Crocker in Anything Goes(Upstairs at the Gatehouse), Mr Connolly in The Railway Children (Cadogan Hall), Duck in The Homosexual Necrophiliac Duck Opera (Tête à Tête Opera), Val LaMar in Babes in Arms (Ye Olde Rose and Crown) and Jack Saul in The Sins of Jack Saul (Above The Stag).

Born in Austria and based in London, Oliver works internationally across music, fashion, opera, film, television, theatre, live events, and large-scale opening and closing ceremonies.

As an Associate Choreographer, he has contributed to numerous theatre and opera productions, including Cabaret(Gothenburg Opera), The Excursions of Mr. Broček (Berlin State Opera and Teatro Real, Madrid), Jedermann (Salzburg Festival), Lady in the Dark (Opera Zuid, Netherlands) and The Most Magnificent Circus (Carnival Cruises).

As a Choreographer, Oliver has worked with a wide range of music artists, including Adam Lambert, Melanie C, Charli XCX and Brooke Candy, Mimi Webb, Pixie Lott, HRVY, LF System, Jodie Harsh and Pete Tong.

His television credits include the Royal Variety Performance, New Year’s Eve at Wembley, I Hate Suzie Too (HBO), The Jonathan Ross Show, Mary & The King (Sky TV), The One Show, Saturday Mash Up!, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Lip Sync Battle, Blue Peter, Beat The Star (Germany) and Klein Gegen Groß (Germany).

His live event and concert work includes Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball at London’s O2 Arena, O2 Academy Brixton, Co-op Live, Barclay Arena Hamburg, Mighty Hoopla Festival, Emirates Stadium and the Twickenham Stadium Half-Time Show.

As a Movement Director, he has also collaborated with leading brands including Adidas, Hermès, Schwarzkopf, Longchamp, L’Oréal, Urban Outfitters, Redken, Fortnum & Mason, Bvlgari, Xbox, Lidl and The Ivy.

A graduate of HEAR (Strasbourg) and ENSATT (Lyon), Mathieu Crescence is a set and costume designer, illustrator and video artist.

After training at the Paris Opera from 2010 alongside internationally renowned designers, he began collaborating in 2013 with Olivier Py and Pierre-André Weitz on numerous opera productions. In 2016, he joined the Salzburg Festival as Assistant Costume Designer.

Among his own designs are the sets and costumes for Le Balcon by Peter Eötvös, Don César de Bazan by Massenet (directed by Damien Bigourdan), La Périchole, Carmen, Werther (directed by Romain Gilbert), The Magic Flute, Orpheus in the Underworld, The Excursions of Mr Brouček by Janáček, created in collaboration with Radu Boruzescu, and La Main Gauche by Ramon Lazkano (directed by Béatrice Lachaussée).

He also enjoys a long-standing collaboration with Kaspar Glarner, contributing to productions including Otello (London), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Frankfurt), The Fiery Angel (Warsaw) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Vienna). In 2025, he co-designed the costumes for Boris Godunov, directed by Keith Warner.

Throughout his career, he has also worked alongside Krzysztof Warlikowski, Małgorzata Szczęśniak, Cecilia Bartoli and, more recently, Luis F. Carvalho and Robert Carsen, assisting them on the creation of the latest production of Jedermann at the Salzburg Festival.

Sarah has worked for over 20 years as a Lighting Programmer, Associate Lighting Designer and Lighting Technician (slightly longer than she would care to admit!). Throughout her career, she has worked across a wide range of musical theatre, opera, theatre and dance productions. Before becoming freelance, she was a member of the resident technical teams at London’s National Theatre and English National Opera.

Singin’ in the Rain marks Sarah’s third production at the Théâtre du Lido, following Hello, Dolly! and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.

His theatre credits include Pride the Musical (National Theatre), Sinatra, Back to the Future: The Musical, Grease, Elf, The Time Traveller’s Wife, Into the Woods, Waitress, Only Fools and Horses, Magic Mike Live, Matilda, 42nd Street, Bat Out of Hell, Five Guys Named Moe, Ghost, Hairspray, Our House and Urinetown (West End). He has also worked on Mamma Mia! (international productions) and Mamma Mia! The Party; Sweet Charity (Donmar Warehouse); Come Fall in Love (Palace Theatre, Manchester); A Christmas Carol, Groundhog Day and Jekyll & Hyde (The Old Vic); Sinatra and Bhangra Nation (Birmingham Rep); Chicago, Shrek, Grease, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Mrs Henderson Presents, Fat Friends and The Commitments (UK Tour); Man of La Mancha, Chess, Carousel, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, On the Town and Kismet (English National Opera); Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hello, Dolly! and Crazy for You (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); My Fair Lady, Oklahoma!, Kiss Me, Kate, West Side Story and On the Town (BBC Proms with John Wilson); Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Oliver! and Sweet Charity (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield); My Fair Lady, Candide, 42nd Street, Singin’ in the Rain and Kiss Me, Kate (Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris); The Beggar’s Opera (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris); Guys and Dolls (Théâtre Marigny, Paris); and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Hello, Dolly! (Théâtre du Lido, Paris).

For Andrew Lloyd Webber, he has cast productions including The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Tell Me on a Sunday, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game, Bombay Dreams, The Woman in White, The Sound of Music, Love Never Dies, The Wizard of Oz, Stephen Ward, School of Rock, Unmasked and Cinderella.

For film, he has cast the musical ensembles for Matilda, Greatest Days, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Mamma Mia!, as well as the UK dancers for Mary Poppins Returns and Nine. He also served as Casting Director for The Phantom of the Opera.

His television credits include the Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert, MAMMA MIA! I HAVE A DREAM(ITV), The Sound of Music Live (BAFTA 2016), Superstar, Over the Rainbow, I’d Do Anything, Any Dream Will Do, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? (Emmy Award 2007), Kombat Opera Presents… (Golden Rose of Montreux 2008), Hollyoaks and West End Star (TV3 Sweden).

His honours include the Casting Society of America Creative Collaboration Award and the Casting Directors’ Guild Award for Best Musical Casting (2022) for Back to the Future: The Musical.

David is an Associate Artist of The Old Vic, a Trustee of the Watermill Theatre in Newbury, a Trustee of the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, and Vice-President of Arts Educational Schools.

Sabine Vatin studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she was awarded First Prizes in Piano, Chamber Music, Accompaniment, Continuo and Vocal Coaching.

A distinguished vocal coach, she has worked with the Paris Opera and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, before joining the Théâtre du Châtelet, where she served as Musical Advisor from 1992 to 2024 under the artistic leadership of Stéphane Lissner, Jean-Pierre Brossmann, Jean-Luc Choplin and Olivier Py.

She has recorded around ten albums and regularly performs in recital at prestigious venues and festivals, including the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Radio France and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. She also appears as a concerto soloist with orchestras and has accompanied internationally renowned singers such as Susan Graham, Thomas Hampson, Jessye Norman and Julie Fuchs. As a chamber musician, she has performed with Gary Hoffman and Eric and Cyrille Lacrouts.