ONE of the singing legends of the previous century is the subject of a fiercely funny and emotionally charged musical that theatregoers will be able to see locally during its UK tour.

A hit in the West End and on Broadway, End of the Rainbow will be at Malvern’s Festival Theatre for five days - from Tuesday, April 5 through to Saturday, April 9.

The show will feature Lisa Maxwell, Gary Wilmot and Sam Atwater.


On stage it's 1968 and Judy Garland, a once-glittering star who is played by Lisa Maxwell, is in London to make her explosive comeback. But off stage, holed up in her hotel room, Judy is battling with her young new fiancé, her devoted accompanist, and her destructive addictions.

Will she be able to conquer her demons and reclaim her crown as one of history’s great musical icons?

Featuring Garland’s most memorable songs The Man That Got Away, Come Rain Or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and, of course, Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

End of the Rainbow takes its audience to both end of the spectrum being not only funny but also filled with incredible emotion.

A musical play, it embraces Garland’s legendary tenacity, razor-sharp wit and once-in-a-generation voice.

Lisa Maxwell is an actress and television presenter, best known for her role as Samantha Nixon in ITV’s The Bill from 2002 and 2009, and as a panelist on ITV’s Loose Women from 2009 – 2014. Other television credits include EastEnders, The Russ Abbot Show and The Lisa Maxwell Show.


Gary Wilmot will play her musical accompanist Anthony Chapman. His musical theatre stardom began when he played Bill Snibson in the hit production of Me and My Girl at the Adelphi Theatre. His many theatre credits include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (West End and Tour), Oklahoma! (UK Tour), The Pajama Game (Shaftesbury Theatre), The Invisible Man (Menier Chocolate Factory), Chicago (UK Tour), Half a Sixpence (UK Tour), HMS Pinafore and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), as well as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (London Palladium), Carmen Jones (Old Vic) and Copacabana (World Premiere, Prince of Wales Theatre).


Playing Mickey Deans will be Sam Atwater who made his TV acting debut in 2009, playing Ricky in Hollyoaks. The following year he joined EastEnders and its on-line spin-off EastEnders: E20, as Leon Small. Stage credits include Brad in the 40th Anniversary tour of The Rocky Horror Show, Dreamboats and Petticoats in the West End, and the 2014 UK Tour of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Sam also won the sixth series of ITV’s Dancing on Ice in 2011, and returned for the 'All Stars' series in 2014.


End of the Rainbow first premiered at the Sydney Opera House in 2005, before playing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2006. It returned to the UK in 2010 in a new production at Northampton Royal & Derngate, transferring to the West End the same year where it ran for six months and received four Olivier Award nominations. A Broadway run followed in 2012, where it received three Tony Award nominations.

It is written by Peter Quilter, whose plays have been presented in over 40 countries around the world and translated into 30 languages. For End of the Rainbow, Peter received an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play. Other plays include Glorious!, which opened at the West End’s Duchess Theatre in 2005 starring Maureen Lipman, where it was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

During the musical’s stay in Malvern the role of Judy Garland will be played by Ellen Verenieks for the matinee show on the Wednesday, April 6 (2.30pm).