You know there’s something going on when a Russian ballet star, who doesn’t speak lots of English, makes an appearance on Andrew Marr’s Sunday morning TV sofa alongside that other man of the moment, Peter Mandelson.

Ivan Vasiliev is currently starring in the Bolshoi Ballet’s production of Spartacus at the Royal Opera House (until 31 July) as part of the Bolshoi’s Summer season in London. And to say he is making a slight stir is quite an understatement.

He already made a big impact back in 2007 when he appeared with the Bolshoi at the Coliseum. But since then he has risen to global ballet star proportions.

Most press about Ivan centres on his legs, which are stockier than your average world-leading ballet boy, but give him a level of speed, agility, grace and power not seen for quite a while. The boy can jump.

Born in Vladivostok, he graduated from the Belarusian State Choreographic College in 2006 and went straight to the Bolshoi Ballet Theatre of Belarus as a principle dancer. He’s played numerous roles including Solar in La Bayadere and the Nutcracker-Prince in the Nutcracker, but it’s as Spartacus that sparks have really started to fly.

Alongside his performance as Spartacus at the Royal Opera House he will also play the title role in Petrouchka on 30 July, Conrad in Le Corsaire on 3 August and Basilio in Don Quixote on 6 and 8 August.

Tickets for the Bolshoi season are available from the Royal Opera House.

WestEndTheatre.com now offers tickets to selected Royal Opera House productions, including forthcoming productions of Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Pasquale, Hansel und Gretel, Niobe, Regina Di Tebe, Onegin, Rigoletto and Romeo Et Juliette.

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Bolshoi Ballet – Ivan Vasiliev

Royal Opera House

Ramin Karimloo is the stuff that Glee is made of. As a sporty, hockey-playing teenager, not dissimilar to Glee’s Finn Hudson, he was dragged along to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. And so a musical theatre star was born.

“From that moment, I thought that’s what I am going to do. It wasn’t a desperate aim. It was a fact,” he told the Daily Telegraph in February this year.

Ramin went on to realise his dream and to star as the Phantom in the hit show, before moving from Her Majesty’s Theatre to the Adelphi Theatre to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies.

Born in Iran and raised in Canada, Ramin started his career as an actor after singing in rock bands and playing cruise ships. Once in England, he turned to musical theatre, playing a wide range of roles including Enjolras in Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre, Chris in Miss Saigon and Sunset Boulevard.

As well as continuing to star in Love Never Dies, in October this year he will feature in the O2 Arena concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables, returning to the role of Enjolras.

Book tickets to Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London

Book tickets to Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert at the O2 Arena

West End star Hannah Waddingham, whose recent successes include Trevor Nunn’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, will return to Sondheim this summer in Into The Woods.

Part of this year’s Open Air Theatre season in Regent’s Park, the show helps celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 80th year which also sees a revival of Passion this summer at the Donmar Warehouse starring Elena Roger.

Directed by Timothy Sheader, Hannah Waddingham plays the central role of the Witch, alongside Olivier award winner Jenna Russell (Sunday in the Park with George) as the Baker’s wife in the show that adds a dark twist to famous fairytales such as Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel.

Hannah has enjoyed a successful stage career, including Olivier Award nominations for playing the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot and Desiree Armfelt in Trevor Nunn’s production of A Little Night Music at the Menier Choclate Factory and the Garrick Theatre. Other roles include Suzanne Valadon in Lautrec, Christine Warner in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game at the Cambridge Theatre) Satan in Rod Stewart’s Tonight’s The Night and Rizzo in Grease at the Victoria Palace Theatre.

The Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music continues to pack them in on Broadway, now starring Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch (from 13 July). Catherine Zeta-Jones won a Tony Award for her performance as Desiree in the show on Broadway.

Other cast in Into The Woods include Valda Aviks, Billy Boyle, Gaye Brown, Helen Dallimore, Alice Fearn, Amy Griffiths, Mark Hadfield, Amy Ellen Richardson, Beverly Rudd, Ben Stott, Simon Thomas, Gemma Wardle and Michael Xavier.

Into the Woods will run from 5 August until 11 September at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park.

Book tickets to Into The Woods at the Open Air Theatre in London

21 year old Alexis is seemingly on a fame fast-track, having appeared in BBC One’s Your Country Needs You in March to find a singer to represent the UK in the Eurovision song content.

We all know how that ended, so it’s with thanks that Alexis made his escape and swiftly jumped into a starring role in edgy drama Dirty White Boy:  The Tales of Soho at the Trafalgar Studios.

And now he has been cast by Bill Kenwright in his 1960s nostalgia-fest Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre in London, playing the role of Bobby alongside 70s pop star Tony Christie as his Dad.

As if that wasn’t enough, he is also working on his own musical material with singer/songwriter Beverley Skeete.

Alexis joins the cast from 5 July.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £30 on tickets to see Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre in London

TV talent shows have not only boosted the fortunes of the music industry. West End theatre has become increasingly reliant on TV talent and casting shows to generate a new generation of recognisable faces to join the casts of long-running shows.

David Ian’s Grease The Musical - which was itself cast through 2007 ITV talent show Grease Is The Word – has seen Ray Quinn (discovered on The X-Factor, winner of Dancing on Ice) play Danny, and has now cast Over The Rainbow runner-up Lauren Samuels in the part of Sandy in the long-running show.

Lauren trained at the Guildford School of Acting where her roles included Esta in Moby Dick! The Musical, Grace in Anyone Can Whistle, Sarah in Bitter Sweet and Frances in The Matchgirls.

Earlier this year she auditioned for Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s BBC One talent search Over The Rainbow to find a Dorothy for his new production of The Wizard of Oz – starting next year at the London Palladium. She rose up through the weeks of auditions and live shows to get to third place in the contest, attracting many millions of followers on the way.

Last year she made her professional stage debut as Wendy in the Christmas production of Peter Pan at the Curve in Leicester.

Lauren will join the cast of Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre from 26 July.

SPECIAL OFFER: Save £21 on tickets to Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London

Camilla Kerslake has perseverance. In spades.

She is currently playing Cosette in Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre in London for 3 weeks only, alongside Nick Jonas. She will also appear in the 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables at the O2 on 3 October 2010.

Born in London but brought up until the age of eight outside of Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island, Kerslake, 21, decided against plans to be a doctor, and after ‘A’ levels, auditioned for Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music then started a two-year course on the business aspects of the music industry.” But just three months in, Camilla’s life changed irrevocably. Camilla recorded her own versions of two classic pieces, ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘Pie Jesu’ to show off her remarkable voice. Armed with the knowledge that Take That were recording at a London Studio at the time, Camilla turned up on an almost daily basis hoping to give Gary Barlow the demos.

Gary finally relented and listened. In true fairytale fashion, he loved what he heard and immediately offered to sign her to his Future record label and put her into the recording studio with producer Mike Hedges, famed for his work with U2, the Manic Street Preachers and Dido among many highly-successful others, Her self-titled debut album, released last year went on to receive a nomination for Best Album at the 2010 Classical BRIT Awards and she has performed at Buckingham Palace for Prince Charles’ charity dinner and The Royal Albert Hall for Classic FM Live and Classic Response 2010.

Book tickets to Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre in London

Book tickets to Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert at the O2

Ray Quinn

21 year old Ray Quinn came to prominence in ITV’s The X Factor, finishing second in the 2006 talent show. Not to be beaten, he went on to star in ITV’s Dancing on Ice in 2009 and won!

He started his theatrical career with a few small roles in his home town of Liverpool, namely Me and My Girl and Peter Pan. He’s gone on to star as Danny in Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End.  He has also appeared in Pantomime.

Next up for Ray is Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre this summer, playing the role of Billy Kostecki, Johnny Castle’s cousin, for a limited season from 26 July to 27 November 2010. He gets to sing two iconic songs from the show – “Do You Love Me?” and “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life”.

Dirty Dancing is now in its fourth year at the Aldwych Theatre and brings the action and music of the iconic film to the stage.

Special offer: Save £22.50 on tickets to see Ray Quinn in Dirty Dancing at the Aldwych Theatre in London

Daniel Boys

Daniel Boys has come a long way from his 2007 TV debut on BBC One’s Any Dream Will Do. Lee Mead may have won the show, but Boys has gone on to prove that he’s got more than what it takes to forge a strong career in UK theatre.

His successful two-year stint in the West End’s Avenue Q, which earned him a 2009 What’s On Stage Award for ‘Best Takeover in a Role’, put him firmly on the “stars to watch” list. He has also performed in a number of concerts and events including a special guest artist on John Barowman’s UK tour, and is a regular on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night. 2009 also saw him release his debut album, So Close.

And now Daniel is set to appear at the Trafalgar Studios this summer to star in the psycho-sexual musical thriller Wolfboy (6 – 31 July), joined by former Hollyoaks star Emma Rigby and Paul Holowaty and Gregg Lowe.

Wolfboy is a dark and disturbing tale of two troubled teenage boys locked in an asylum for their own good. Bernie has attempted suicide; David may or may not have the powers of a wolf. For them the outside world is a frightening place of abuse and violence. Bernie’s brother Christian and Cherry the young nurse on the unit, also hide secrets that surface in the night, when the moon is full.

This new musical premiered at the Edinburgh Festival fringe last year and has a book by Russell Labey, music and lyrics by Leon Parris and is based on a play by Brad Fraser.

Book tickets to see Wolfboy at the Trafalgar Studios in London

Former Hollyoaks star Emma Rigby is set to appear at the Trafalgar Studios this summer to star in the psycho-sexual musical thriller Wolfboy (6 – 31 July).

Emma Rigby, who is 20 years old and originally from St. Helens, won a Best Actress gong at the British Soap Awards in 2008 for her sensitive portrayal of a girl’s battle with anorexia.

Wolfboy is a dark and disturbing tale of two troubled teenage boys locked in an asylum for their own good. Bernie has attempted suicide; David may or may not have the powers of a wolf. For them the outside world is a frightening place of abuse and violence. Bernie’s brother Christian and Cherry the young nurse on the unit, also hide secrets that surface in the night, when the moon is full.

This new musical premiered at the Edinburgh Festival fringe last year and has a book by Russell Labey, music and lyrics by Leon Parris and is based on a play by Brad Fraser.

The cast also includes former Avenue Q star Daiel Boys, Paul Holowaty and Gregg Lowe.

Book tickets to see Wolfboy at the Trafalgar Studios in London

Katherine Kingsley

Currently touring the UK in the hilarious The 39 Steps, Katherine Kingsley has spent the last few years rising onwards and upwards.

Her accomplished list of credits cover drama, comedy and musical, all of which reflect her training: the Bristol Old Vic, Mountview and English National Opera. Past productions include an Olivier nomination for the recent Donmar production of Piaf, The Trojan Women, High Society, The Truth Will Out, The Black and White Ball, Hobson’s Choice, Habeas Corpus, The Canterbury Tales, The Memory of Water, Suddenly at Home, Go Back for Murder, The Hollow, Verdict  and And Then There Were None. TV work includes The Bill, Hollyoaks and Casualty.

She will star as Rose Vibert in Aspects of Love alongside Michael Arden as Alex Dillingham. This will be the first major London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love will premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory from 7 July. With book and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart, Aspects of Love will see the return of director Trevor Nunn to the Menier after his enormous success with A Little Night Music, currently starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury on Broadway. Nunn also directed the original West End production of the show in 1989 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

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Book tickets to Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory