Stephen Fry to guest narrate the BBC’s U.Me: The Musical

Stephen Fry will narrate the premiere of the BBC’s U.Me: The Musical, the broadcaster said.

The production stars lead actors Anoushka Lucas and Martin Sarreal, with students from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) making up the wider cast.

U.Me: The Musical is described by the BBC as an international love story staged for radio and podcast based on two young people who forge a strong connection after meeting online.

The premiere will be broadcast on the BBC World Service on May 12.

Special guest narrator Fry, who according to the BBC has provided a “beautifully moving introduction,” said: “Many of our story tellers were cut off from income streams during the pandemic, but leaving themselves vulnerable in every way is something they’re used to.

“Many have continued to create, unpaid and in isolation, documenting these extraordinary times so that we and those that come after would be able to understand this moment in a way that is truthful, universal and profound.”

Lucas, who plays Rose, is a singer and actress who was raised in London by a French-Cameroonian mother and an Anglo-Indian father.

Sarreal, who portrays Ryo, is an East Asian actor and filmmaker and is based in London.

U.Me: The Musical is described as a “cultural response to a unique global collective experience” in the pandemic.

It will feature contemporary musicians as well as the BBC Philharmonic with more than 60 musicians across the north-west of England, who are recording their parts remotely due to the pandemic.

The premiere of U.Me: The Musical will be broadcast on May 12 at 8pm on the BBC World Service.