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Nina Wadia set to star in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Tickets are already on sale, and start from £15.

Nina Wadia set to star in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Actress Nina Wadia, who has several successful titles to her credit including the very popular EastEnders and Goodness Gracious Me, will play Fairy Sugarsnap in York Theatre Royal’s family pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk from 8 December 2023 to 7 January 2024.

Tickets are already on sale, and start from £15.


Wadia joins the previously announced Robin Simpson, who returns as the Dame, and Scottish actor James Mackenzie as the villainous Luke Backinanger, best known as the presenter of CBBC’s fantasy adventure game show Raven.

In a recent interview, Wadia had said that playing the role of Zainab Masood in EastEnders temporarily “ruined” her career.

“It was fun. I loved my time on EastEnders, loved it. I would go back in a heartbeat. It was one of those shows that when I was in it, I absolutely did enjoy it. Towards the end… I think I’m one of those actors that needs to be doing different things. There’s a time where you just go, okay I need to do something else, I’m getting a bit bored, the storylines are going over the same ground. I thought maybe I’d go back into comedy, but Zainab Masood ruined my career for a year because no casting director touched me,” she said.

She continued, “My agent would put me forward and they’d go ‘no she’s Zainab’ and I was like ‘I’m not actually Zainab. I can do other things’.”

Stay tuned to this space for more updates!

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Youtube Screengrabs/Universal Pictures UK

Riz Ahmed’s 'Hamlet' trailer drops murder suspicion into a South Asian business dynasty

Highlights:

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  • Directed by Aneil Karia and in cinemas 6 February 2025
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Riz Ahmed has entered Hamlet in a way British cinema has not quite seen. The new Hamlet trailer has been released by Universal, giving the first proper look at Aneil Karia’s modern take on Shakespeare and placing the story inside a British South Asian business empire. It is due in cinemas on 6 February, and the footage shows a tense, controlled Ahmed moving through grief, suspicion and family power.

The film teams Ahmed and Karia again after The Long Goodbye, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. That success informs this production. This is the first time a major UK studio release has grounded Hamlet within a South Asian household for a wide audience.

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