Joaquin Pedro Valdes has been announced to be the voice of Rooh for the concept album of Ayla: A New Musical, a production he has been involved with for a few years, and over the 2025 festive season, he played Prince Chadley at Rose Theatre Kingston in their Christmas family show Cinderella. In 2025, Joaquin was also part of the Stephen Sondheim musical The Frogs as Herakles at Southwark Playhouse Borough, having previously played Manjiro in the Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2023/24. Across Joaquin’s theatre career so far, he has been in casts of world premieres including Killing the Cat at Riverside Studios, Then, Now & Next at Southwark Playhouse Borough, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents – The Musical at Theatre Royal Bath. With the Percy Jackson musical The Lightning Thief having a London premiere at The Other Palace, Joaquin originated the roles of Luke/Ares, and he was in the casts of A Song of Songs at the Park Theatre, the Stephen Schwartz classic The Baker’s Wife as Dominique at the Menier Chocolate Factory opposite Lucie Jones and Death Note at The London Palladium as Light. During the COVID pandemic years, Joaquin’s roles have included covering Simba on the UK & Ireland Tour of The Lion King, and he made his West End debut in Heathers the Musical as Ram Sweeney at Theatre Royal Haymarket. We found out from Joaquin about being announced as Rooh for the concept album of Ayla: A New Musical, his time in the Sondheim shows The Frogs and Pacific Overtures, originating the roles of Luke/Ares in The Lightning Thief and being in the casts of The Lion King and Heathers the Musical.
It has been announced that you will be heard as Rooh on the concept album of Ayla: A New Musical; can you tell us about this?
I’ve been attached to the project since its first outing a few years ago, back when it had a different title and was still in an earlier version of the script. Gianluca (Cucchiara) is a fantastic composer, and this piece has very clearly been his baby for at least a decade. Despite being a native Italian speaker and writer, the English translation and libretto by Andrew Whelan sings beautifully. It’s extremely satisfying to sing new musical theatre writing that has been crafted so carefully and so well. You can feel that care in the material, and you can certainly feel it in the singing.
But more than that, it’s been an honour to grow with the project – both in craft and in friendship with the people who created it.
Ayla is essentially a fantasy sci-fi epic. It follows Ayla as she navigates duty to her tribe, love, and the cost of both.
Over the 2025 festive season, you played Prince Chadley in Rose Theatre Kingston’s Christmas family show Cinderella; what was this like, and how different did you find it from your previous projects?
I’d never done a family show like that before. Chris Bush, Roni Neale, Matt Winkworth and Owen Horsley put so much love and heart into it. It was called Cinderella, but it really felt like a brand new, original work – and one I was very proud to be part of, especially for all the families who’ve made it a tradition to come to the Rose at Christmas.
I think they’re doing something genuinely lovely there by offering an alternative to the usual pantomime fare around the city. It’s a gem of a show, and I was very glad to be part of it.
The Rose also brings in a few professional actors to work alongside the talented young company from their Youth Theatre programme. These young people had been working on the show since the summer, so in many ways we professionals were the ones playing catch-up. I learnt a lot from them – particularly never to take this work for granted. There was so much joy, both on stage and off.
Also last year, you played Herakles in The Frogs at Southwark Playhouse Borough, and you played Manjiro in Pacific Overtures at Menier Chocolate Factory in 2023/24, can you tell us about performing in both Stephen Sondheim musicals?
If I could be a full-time Sondheim actor, I absolutely would. Not many actors get the chance to remain in the Sondheim multiverse, so I feel very lucky. Sondheim is a master of language, thought and song, and for an actor to get to live inside that kind of writing is a gift. What made Pacific Overtures and The Frogs especially exciting is that they’re arguably among his lesser-known and less commercially celebrated titles. So it does feel a little bit like being part of an exclusive club – getting to perform some of his more obscure work in such excellent revivals.
How did you find the experience of working on the world premiere productions of Killing the Cat at Riverside Studios, Then, Now & Next at Southwark Playhouse Borough (both in 2023), and Alfred Hitchcock Presents – The Musical at Theatre Royal Bath in 2025?
I have a little collection of posters on the wall in my flat, and about 90% of the shows I’ve done have been world premieres in exciting London venues. It’s quite humbling to be entrusted with these creatives’ babies.
New work is so difficult to get over the line nowadays. The economics of the industry make it incredibly tough. So when I get to be part of a brand new production – something I know has been written in blood, sweat and tears over many years – it really is an honour.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was one of the most exhilarating projects I’ve ever done. To be in a room with that calibre of talent, under the direction of John Doyle – who was deeply knowledgeable and wonderfully collaborative – felt like being paid to attend a two-month masterclass. Truly a highlight.
What was it like taking on the roles of Luke/Ares in The Lightning Thief at The Other Palace and originating the characters in the London premiere?
Originating a musical theatre character from a beloved IP is nerve-racking. Fans are understandably protective of what they love, so on one hand you don’t want to disappoint them, and on the other, you have to remain honest enough to find where the character intersects with your own body and instincts. With the help of Lizzi (Gee), Rob (Rokicki) and Ben (McQuigg), I think we found that for Luke. Lizzi’s staging was exciting and left loads of room for collaboration and play. I even got Ares to wield Filipino Eskrima sticks.
The team was incredibly supportive and encouraging when it came to giving us creative agency and voice, and I think you can hear that in the Original London Cast Recording. We were all just having loads of fun – and, judging by the fans’ response, it worked.
How familiar were you with the Percy Jackson franchise before being cast, and how was it seeing the fan response to the musical?
I wasn’t too familiar with it before I was cast, so I did a proper deep dive into the books and the world around them. I felt like I needed to become a fan first in order to understand why the fans loved it so much.
What was so lovely was seeing how personally people connected to the show – and to us. I was given hand-painted camp beads inspired by my character, and I ended up wearing them as part of my costume. Stage door felt especially meaningful on that job, because the fans got to tell you exactly why the story, the books and the characters meant so much to them. It was especially encouraging to hear from some of them that I’d done Luke justice, and even given him more depth than they expected.
How was your time performing in A Song of Songs at Park Theatre and The Baker’s Wife as Dominique at Menier Chocolate Factory?
A Song of Songs was special mainly because of the form. It wasn’t really a musical in the conventional sense – it was closer to a gig-theatre piece, and I was effectively the vocalist for this extraordinary band. A lot of the music was improvised, and my own vocal textures and affectations became part of that improvisation. The sound world was haunting and beautiful, and getting to sing with that band every night was such a dream. I also discovered that I could vocally do things I didn’t know I could do, and I fell slightly madly in love with flamenco, fado, traditional klezmer and Arabic music in the process.
The Baker’s Wife was a dream. Possibly the only show WhatsApp group I never left. That calibre of talent, sharing the historic bunker space of the Menier in an immersive new staging of a Stephen Schwartz classic – what more could you ask for? We became incredibly close on that show, and it certainly wasn’t difficult falling in love with Lucie Jones every night.
Singing for Stephen himself was surreal. In this particular version, he let me absolutely soar in Proud Lady in a higher, more balls-to-the-wall key. I remember him saying, “I want you to show off, JP – they’re going to love you”. You don’t exactly forget a moment like that.
What did you enjoy most about getting into character as Light in Death Note at The London Palladium?
Light is hero and anti-hero at the same time. At his core, he genuinely wants to bring good into the world, but his hubris, rage and obsession become the very things that undo him. It’s a fable about how absolute power corrupts absolutely. He’s a complex, sophisticated and multi-layered character, written for an Asian actor. Where else do you find that? Add to that the fact that the audience and fans felt so close to these characters and this story, and it made the whole thing pretty extraordinary.
Can you tell us about covering the starring role of Simba on the UK & Ireland Tour of The Lion King, and what it was like touring with such a hugely popular Disney musical?
The Lion King was challenging in many respects. The show is extraordinary, and even being a small part of that huge machine is humbling. Simba is obviously iconic, but people don’t always realise the amount of work that goes into that show physically, mentally and emotionally.
This was also right on the heels of COVID, and we were on tour. At one point, we were in Dublin in the middle of tech when a national lockdown was announced. We genuinely didn’t know whether we’d be able to keep going. Thankfully, we did, and returning to Pride Rock after that lockdown was exhilarating, to say the least.
Simba is especially close to my heart. His search for meaning and purpose, his fear, anxiety, his escape, and ultimately his redemption – that arc is something I carry with me. I can only hope to sing Endless Night again one day, donning that glorious headpiece.
Do you have any stand-out memories from making your West End debut in Heathers the Musical as Ram Sweeney at Theatre Royal Haymarket, when theatres reopened after the COVID pandemic?
Once a Heather, always a Heather. Ram Sweeney was a riot. Never in my life did I think I’d make my West End debut in such a cult classic, playing a complete clown and – more importantly – wearing next to nothing but pants.
I remember someone sending me a review or a post from an audience member saying she wanted Joaquin Pedro Valdes to father her children. I still wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or a threat.
Our post-COVID Heathers cast at the Haymarket was ace – stars in every respect – and I’m still very close with some of them now.
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch, and which would you still like to see that you haven’t yet?
I’m a massive Jamie Lloyd stan. I think he has probably received more of my money in theatre tickets than any other director, cumulatively. I was completely transformed by his Cyrano – which I saw three times – then The Seagull, then Betrayal, and many others.
My wife and I are also National Theatre regulars. More recent things I’ve loved include Till the Stars Come Down, Our Town at the Rose, Emma at the Rose, Inter Alia, and The Producers.
I’ve still yet to see Paddington, Avenue Q, Romeo and Juliet with Sadie Sink, and Into the Woods at the Bridge.
I just love theatre – I can’t get enough of it. If I can afford the ticket, I’ll be there.
Have you been given any advice over your time as a performer so far that has stuck with you?
Just show up.
This business is ruthless and unforgiving. The lights and noise around it can be distracting for a while, but when reality hits, there are absolutely days when I want to throw in the towel. Someone once told me: just show up. Especially on the days you don’t feel like it. Especially when you’re wrestling with self-doubt or impostor syndrome. Just show up.
That is already half the battle won. Because even in my own wildest imagination, I could never predict what might come from being ready, present and willing to show up.
What are you hoping 2026 brings you?
Surprises – and hopefully, new ways to fall in love with this craft all over again.
Joaquin Pedro Valdes is represented by BBA Management
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