The cast of hit West End musical Once have been doing double takes over the youngest character — because the role is now shared by identical twins.
Rosanna and Emily Beacock, eight, joined the company to play Ivanka, the daughter of the main female character, Girl. The show opened in London this spring to rave reviews.
The twins, from Barnet, were inspired to make their West End debut after seeing their older sister, Lucy-Mae, in Matilda, the Royal Shakespeare Company adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel. “We said we wanted to follow in her footsteps,” Emily said in their dressing room at the Phoenix Theatre.
They have had a few initial mishaps with both struggling to open a door on stage. “It’s quite hard,” Rosanna said.
And they are yet to see each other in the role as one is always the understudy for the other. But they both love it, although only Emily is convinced she wants to act when older. “It’s all about having fun and it’s really nice because everyone’s so kind to you,” she said.
Croatian actress Zrinka Cviteši, 34, who plays their mother, said: “It’s very weird. When they appeared they looked exactly like me at that stage, with pigtails. I thought this can’t be true.”
The leading lady has grown fond of her young charges, who also include Mia–Jai Bryan and Honey Joyce — and it is even making her slightly broody. “I’m at that age when I’m having the emotions of having my own,” she said.
