Kiss Me, Kate | Adrian Dunbar, Stephanie J Block, Charlie Stemp and Georgina Onuorah

Yesterday marked the official opening of Kiss Me, Kate at the Barbican Theatre in London.

We caught up with four of the stars of the show with a handful of questions inspired by the classic Cole Porter songs from the musical, so find out what Tony Award winner Stephanie J Block, Adrian Dunbar, WhatsOnStage Award winner Charlie Stemp and Georgina Onuorah had to say in our exclusive video.

The production is led by Block (making her West End debut as Lilli Vanessi/Katharine), Dunbar (making his musical theatre debut as Fred Graham/Petruchio), Stemp (as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio) and Onuorah (as Lois Lane/Bianca), alongside WhatsOnStage Award winners Nigel Lindsay and Hammed Animashaun as the famous gangster pairing in the show and Peter Davison (as the General), with Josie Benson (as Hattie), Jack Butterworth (as Paul), Jude Owusu (as Harry Trevor/Baptista), Carl Au (as Hortensio/Ensemble), Jordan Crouch (as Gremio/Ensemble), Gary Milner (as Ralph/Ensemble) and James Hume (as Pops/Ensemble).

Completing the company are Alisha Capon, Shani Cantor, Maya de Faria, Amelia Kinu Muus, Jacqui Jameson, Lucas Koch, Alex Lodge, Nell Martin, Anna McGarahan, John Stacey and Harrison Wilde. Swings are Robin Kent, Barry Drummond, Emily Goodenough and Maddie Harper.

Directed by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher, the musical showcases a score by Porter and a book by Sam and Bella Spewack. Notably, this revival reunites producing team members behind successful shows such as Anything Goes and A Strange Loop, both at the Barbican.

The creative team also includes Anthony Van Laast as choreographer, Michael Yeargan as set designer, Catherine Zuber as costume designer, Donald Holder as lighting designer, Adam Fisher as sound designer, and Stephen Ridley as music supervisor. Casting is by Serena Hill.

Hailed as Porter’s greatest musical comedy, Kiss Me, Kate follows the onstage and off-stage antics of a theatre company attempting to produce a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It includes numbers such as “Another Op’nin’, Another Show”, “Too Darn Hot”, “Tom, Dick or Harry” and “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”.

Kiss Me, Kate runs until 14 September 2024 at the Barbican Theatre.