See Call the Midwife’s Helen George in The King and I on the West End

The musical starring George will come to London in 2024 following a UK tour.

By James Hibbs

Published: Wednesday, 05 April 2023 at 12:00 am

Following the previously announced UK tour, hit musical The King & I is heading to London’s West End, with fans getting another chance to see Call The Midwife‘s Helen George as Anna Leonowens.

This run of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical has been directed by Bartlett Sher, and will open at London’s Dominion Theatre on 20th January 2024 for a six-week season.

George is currently playing the role of Anna in a sold-out tour across the UK which will run until November, and she will be reunited with The King star Darren Lee at the Dominion Theatre.

Tickets for the West End run of The King and I are on sale now.

George said: “I am so delighted to continue to play the formidable Anna Leonowens in this incredible production of The King and I. I have really enjoyed playing such an incredibly strong character whilst on tour, but to play her on the West End stage is an honour.”

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Helen George in The King and I.
Johan Persson

Meanwhile, producer Howard Panter added: “Our last London residency of this multi award-winning production at the London Palladium broke Box Office records, received critical acclaim and enjoyed standing ovations at every show – we were overwhelmed with the rapturous response.

“So we are thrilled to bring Helen George and Darren Lee who played The King in the Broadway production to the Dominion next year and offer West End audiences the chance to experience this wondrous production once more. This really is musical theatre at its very best.”

Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher he brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

Call the Midwife, which has starred George since its first season, was recently renewed for a 14th and 15th season, with George revealing that the cast had “no idea” until just before the news was announced.

She said: “We found out the day before it came out in the press, so it was pretty last minute. It was a surprise. We had no idea. All of us had been saying, ‘Well, this is the last year.’ We’d all been planning for the end. So it was a complete shock.”