Nikita Johal steps up from the ensemble to play the female lead role in Broken Wings

Casting news
WITH just over a week until opening night, there has been a major cast change to the eagerly awaited West End premiere of Broken Wings, which runs at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from August 1 to August 4, 2018.
Nikita Johal (pictured), fresh from playing the lead role of Wendla in the acclaimed Spring Awakening at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, is replacing Hiba Elchikhe (Princess Jasmine in the Australian production of Disney’s Aladdin) as Selma.
Elchikhe has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons.
Broken Wings, an autobiographical tale of tragic love based on Lebanese-born poet Kahlil Gibran’s 1912 masterpiece, has book, music and lyrics by West End star Nadim Naaman (The Phantom of the Opera) and music and lyrics by Dana Al Fardan, one of the Middle East’s leading contemporary composers.
It premieres at the Theatre Royal Haymarket as a semi-staged production with 9-piece orchestra.
Co-writer Nadim Naaman leads the cast as the iconic Gibran, the show’s narrator, with Rob Houchen (Marius in the West End production of Les Misérables and Titanic at Charing Cross Theatre) as Gibran’s teenage self.
Nadim Naaman said: “Nikita, who was preparing to understudy the role, will now play Selma. It feels wonderful to have promoted from within the company, she is an amazing talent and we are delighted that Broken Wings will mark her West End debut.”
Read more about Broken Wings.