INTERNATIONAL supercalifragilistic musical hit Mary Poppins is heading for Southampton next June.

Now Disney and Cameron Mackintosh have announced that Zizi Strallen will play ‘Mary Poppins’ and Matt Lee will play ‘Bert’ in this highly anticipated UK and Ireland tour.

The multi award-winning musical will play at Mayflower Theatre from Wednesday May 25 – Sunday June 19 2016.

Zizi Strallen is currently starring as ‘Lana’ in Matthew Bourne’s “The Car Man”. She was most recently seen in the West End in “Cats” and the multi award-winning “Merrily We Roll Along”. Her other West End credits include “Rock of Ages”, “Dirty Dancing” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” at Sadler’s Wells. She appeared in “The Music Man” at Chichester Festival Theatre, and as ‘Penny Pingleton’ in “Hairspray” at Leicester Curve.

Matt Lee played the role of ‘Bert’ in “Mary Poppins” when the show opened in Australia, his portrayal winning him the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His other theatre credits in Australia include “Miss Saigon”, “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Rent”, “Grease” and “The Boy from Oz”. Matt was also a permanent member of the judging panel for Australia’s “So You Think You Can Dance”.

Cameron Mackintosh said today “It’s hard to believe that it is already 11 years since Mary Poppins first landed on the London stage. My goodness……time flies even faster than our beloved Nanny! I’m delighted to be bringing her back to the UK and for the first time to Dublin, after spreading her magic around the world. Since we originally staged the production we have found even more magical ways to stage this timeless tale. I’m also thrilled to have cast yet another of the extraordinarily talented Strallen family in the role of Mary and pair her with one of the most brilliant Berts we have been fortunate to find worldwide. I know Zizi and Matt will be practically perfect in every way and a show-stopping tour de force”.

This magical story has been triumphantly and spectacularly brought to the stage with dazzling choreography, incredible effects and unforgettable songs. It is adapted from the stories by PL Travers and the Walt Disney film.

The timeless score by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman includes Jolly Holiday, Step in Time, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Feed the Birds with some new added songs.

Tickets for Mary Poppins (Wednesday 25 May 2016 – Sunday 19 June 2016) are on sale from Mayflower Theatre Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk.