Entertainment
Pussycat Dolls star Kimberly Wyatt to play ‘Dominic Cummings figure’ in her stage debut and yes it’s a lot to process
If you did in fact wish your press secretary was hot like a Pussycat Doll then you are in luck, as Kimberly Wyatt will play a character described as a ‘Dominic Cummings or even Alastair Campbell figure’ in a new stage production.
The pop star will make her stage debut in political thriller Dead Lies, penned by Hilary Bonner, in which she’ll play press secretary Kate Compton.
That rather unexpected comparison comes from the American singer herself, on the same day we heard news of Jonny Lee Miller’s confirmation as former Prime Minister John Major in The Crown, so it seems there’s something in the air with this rather flattering casting of politicians.
Kimberly was due to embark on a world comeback tour with the Pussycat Dolls this year, but as the concerts were postponed due to the pandemic she’ll now tread the boards instead.
The 39-year-old is joining a cast of stage stalwarts for the touring production, including Casualty actor Clive Mantle, Absolutely Fabulous’ Harriet Thorpe, John Lyons from A Touch Of Frost and Coronation Street’s Jacqueline Leonard.
The Don’t Cha singer described her character Kate as being ‘in the centre of all the drama’, as well as being ‘really sassy’ and ‘switched on’. She also labels Kate as ‘hugely influential in the political arena.’
‘She is very much like a Dominic Cummings or even Alastair Campbell figure but thankfully she has the style of Carrie Johnson,’ she explained.
We’re relieved for you too there, Kimberly.
The Pussycat Doll has exercised her acting chops before, having appeared in CBBC series Almost Never as the fictitious central boy band’s manager since 2019.
Talking about her decision to try out stage acting, she explained: ‘I had been looking to do a play for some time and had read multiple scripts but couldn’t find a character that I really wanted to create.
‘Then I was sent the script for Dead Lies and as soon as I started to read it, I was totally drawn into its world of lies, murder and sexual indiscretion.’
‘I could not put the script down and read it from start to finish in the blink of an eye, I was totally gripped.’
Dead Lies takes place during a fiercely fought election campaign and follows Peter George (Mantle), a politician who promises a new kind of politics beyond sleaze and spin, but a secret in his past threatens to derail his plans.
Kate is ‘to Peter George what Alastair Campbell was to Tony Blair’.
Dead Lies is a brand new stage play from former journalist and popular crime novelist Hilary Bonner, and will be directed by Joe Harmston.
It embarks on a UK tour in the autumn, starting in Barnstaple before heading to Malvern, Lichfield, Chesterfield, Portsmouth and Peterborough with more dates to be announced.
Dead Lies will open at the Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple on September 14-19 2021.
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