A Pop Idol star and RuPaul's Drag Race UK sensation have been announced for the UK 2023 tour of The SpongeBob Musical.
Gareth Gates will play the clarinet-playing Squidward and Divina de Campo will star as villain Sheldon J. Plankton in the stage show based on the hit Nickelodeon cartoon.
It will be in Norwich from July 4 to 8 as it makes its UK premiere following its success on Broadway.
Gareth Gates shot to fame in 2002 after finishing in second place on the UK’s first Pop Idol and he went on to have four number-one singles.
Divina De Campo was crowned runner-up on the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK and on stage she has wowed as Mary Sunshine in Chicago and Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Also newly-announced are Lewis Cornay as SpongeBob, Irfan Damani as Patrick, Chrissie Bhima as Sandy, Richard J Hunt as Mr Krabs, Sarah Freer as Pearl, Eloise Davies as Mrs Puff, TikTok sensation Hannah Lowther as Karen and Rebecca Lisewski as the Mayor.
When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world.
Tickets are on sale now on the Norwich Theatre website.
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