Aspiring young star takes centre stage for King and I performance at Edinburgh Playhouse

An aspiring young star from Edinburgh is taking centre stage at the Playhouse as part of the multi-award winning Broadway musical The King and I.

The multi Tony award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s has returned to the Playhouse after its sold out season at the London Palladium.

Set in 1860s Bangkok, The King and I tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British school teacher who the King brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children.

Joining stars Annalene Beechy, who plays Anna Leonowens, and Brian Rivera, who plays The King, is Edinburgh schoolgirl, Nikita Wong.

The ten-year-old aspiring actress is taking to the stage on the Friday and Saturday night of the musical’s week long run.

But it’s not the first time she’s brushed shoulders with the stars.

Four years ago Nikita was part of the 2019 production of the King and I at the Playhouse with her older sister Perrie.

Nikita (right) with her older sister Perrie.

“I’m very excited to join the King and I family, it’s like a dream come true,” she told STV News.

“I’m very happy to perform in the Edinburgh Playhouse, it’s huge and majestic and it turns me into a star.

“Many of my friends and family are coming to watch because the King and I is so good.”

The cast said it’s been rewarding to welcome local talent to join them on stage to support grassroots performing arts.

Brian Rivera said: “I think each generation of children that we have in the world, we support them through the arts because even if they don’t pursue a career in the arts it helps so much as far as interacting with people, learning how to deal with problems and challenges that may come ahead and also being able to express yourself.

“So having this opportunity is a wonderful and hopeful inspiration for Nikita to continue in the arts.”