Last Updated on 4 July 2021 by Showcall Editorial Team
Stage and screen stars have come together to perform “The Rhythm of Life” from musical Sweet Charity in a film to promote the UK’s vaccination programme
The Government has turned to musical theatre and stars including Derek Jacobi, David Walliams, Jim Broadbent and Russell Tovey to create a video promoting Covid-19 vaccinations.
The short film, released today by the Department of Health and Social Care, uses showstopper “The Rhythm of Life” from musical Sweet Charity, with vocals led by Girls Aloud’s Nicola Roberts and Sandra Marvin who played Becky in Waitress in the West End.
They are joined by actors Colin Salmon, Don Warrington and Asa Butterfield as well as Jacobi, Walliams and Tovey, while Broadbent looks on from the stalls and urges us all to “just get a vaccination”.
The film was conceived and directed by Josie Rourke, former artistic director of London’s Donmar Warehouse, and written by her with writer James Graham. It is being released ahead of the NHS’s 73rd birthday.
Launching the film today (4 July), Broadbent said: “Vaccines are helping us get back to everything we love, and every industry – including the arts – couldn’t be more grateful to each and every person for getting their vaccine.”
The film was produced by Charles Finch and Peregrine Kitchener-Fellowes at Standalone Pictures.
First performed in 1966, Sweet Charity features music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and a book by Neil Simon. Most recently it was revived at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2019, directed by Josie Rourke.
