ONE TINY PENGUIN Musical to Open at Birmingham Hippodrome
Dylan Collymore leads a cast joined by director Laura Ryder and writers Jordan Li-Smith and Julie Tsang.
Birmingham Hippodrome's New Musical Theatre department has assembled the cast and creative team for its new family musical, One Tiny Penguin, opening on Saturday 5 December 2026 and running until Sunday 3 January 2027.
One Tiny Penguin is the latest production in the theatre's acclaimed My First Musical series, following 5-star hits No Such Thing as Wolves, and The Jingleclaw. The new musical promises a memorable theatre experience for audiences aged three and over, featuring snow-stopping songs, magical puppetry, and a heart-melting tale of bravery and friendship.
Leading the cast is Dylan Collymore (101 Dalmatians The Musical, Shrek: The Musical) as Lumi, joined by Sarah Palmer (The Koala Who Could, There's a Monster in Your Show, Hey Duggee! The Live Theatre Show) as Eira, Benedict Hastings (101 Dalmatians The Musical, Hey Duggee! The Live Theatre Show, We're Going on a Bear Hunt) as Sky, Sam Denia (Stereophonic) as Pablo and Clara Abdilla Joslin, making her professional debut as Bonola.
The cast joins the previously announced Midlands-based director, Laura Ryder (Director) and multi-award-winning writers, Jordan Li-Smith (Music and Lyrics) and Julie Tsang (Book and Lyrics).
Joining the creative team are: Matthew Forbes (Movement & Puppet Director), Auburn Jam (Musical Supervisor, Arranger and Orchestrators) (Music Supervisor, Arranger and Orchestrator), TK Hay (Set and Costume Designer), Lucy Adams (Lighting Designer), Alistair Penman (Sound Designer), Livs Needham, (Musical Director), Caroline Mirfin (Costume Supervisor), Mikayla R. Teodoro (Puppet Designer), Lucy Casson CDG (Casting Director), Deirdre O'Halloran (Dramaturg and Head of New Musical Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome), James Ashfield (Producer, Birmingham Hippodrome), Callie Barter (Assistant Producer, Birmingham Hippodrome), Christopher Ball (Production Manager, Birmingham Hippodrome), Chris Wall (Production Sound, Birmingham Hippodrome), Joe Price (Production LX, Birmingham Hippodrome), Liam Price (Drums), Emily Humphrys (Company Stage Manager), Jasper Mattel (Deputy Stage Manager) and Frankie Neville (Assistant Stage Manager). Full creative team is to be announced.
Every year a great big polar bear is chosen to light up the Northern Lights. This year, the special job falls to Lumi, but there's a small problem, he's not a polar bear at all. He's just One Tiny Penguin! So now Lumi must gather all his courage to travel the world, venturing out from the North Pole, to Chile, South Africa – and all the way to the South Pole. Can the new friends Lumi makes along the way help him find out what it means to be a brave penguin and light up the sky?
Deirdre O'Halloran, Head of New Musical Theatre at Birmingham Hippodrome said: "Building the right company for a brand-new musical is always an exciting process, and One Tiny Penguin is no exception. The quality of talent across the cast and creative team is extraordinary, with specialists in puppetry, movement, design and music working alongside outstanding performers to create a theatrical world that's full of wonder, humour and heart. We hope this magical adventure will inspire a new generation of theatregoers and leave families with memories they'll treasure forever.”
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