Bringing The Silence of the Lambs to the stage is no small feat, and this production delivers a striking, psychologically driven interpretation that shows clear promise. It approaches Harris’ world with a strong visual identity and a keen sense of why the story endures, reframing its themes of power, gender, and violence for a contemporary audience. The result is a thoughtful and unsettling retelling that commands attention, even as some elements still feel ripe for deeper development. Based on Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel and the 1991 film, Gina Gionfriddo’s new stage adaptation opened at Curve, Leicester, ahead of a UK tour.
Clarice Starling, Mollie Gallagher, an ambitious FBI trainee, is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, Sam Jackson. To track him, she must seek insight from the brilliant but imprisoned psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, John Partridge, whose chilling intellect and psychological games force her to confront her own fears. As their uneasy alliance deepens, Clarice races against time to stop a killer before he strikes again.
Partridge delivered a solid, well-measured performance, grounding Hannibal Lecter with poise and control, but he never quite reached the calculating, quietly sinister edge that gives the character his unsettling power. The result was compelling, yet missing the sharper psychological menace that typically defines Lecter.
Mollie Gallagher looked suitable in her role as Clarice Starling but her performance fell short. The over-confident masculine strut and stance; coupled with the persistent, exaggerated hand gestures were distracting and often felt amateurish. Her accent slipped, her volume and diction were inconsistent, and the slow, fumbling “quick draw” drained tension from the closing scenes as she faces ‘Buffalo Bill’.
Sam Jackson brought an aloof, distracted energy to Jame Gumb, and that unsettling detachment made the character’s crimes feel even more despicable. His position for much of the production—perched high above Lecter’s cell—visually reinforced his isolation and the warped distance he maintains from humanity.
The supporting ensemble were excellent in their multi-roles, bringing a wide range of sharply defined characters, each with their own distinct presence. Mark Peachy added welcome flashes of light relief as the entomologist, punctuating the darker moments with well-timed humour.
The standout of the production is Michael Taylor’s set. Its industrial, grimy prison aesthetic transitions seamlessly into multiple locations, with clever touches that consistently elevate the storytelling. Lecter’s cell — doubling as an elevated platform for Gumb — creates an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere that anchors the entire piece. George Reeve’s visual projections are striking, heightening the drama throughout, while Carolyn Downing’s sound design and Howard Hudson’s lighting work in tandem to intensify key moments and enrich the overall experience. Props, particularly the prosthetics, are exceptional, adding a gruesome, visceral layer that deepens the production’s darker tone.
Nikolai Foster’s direction is assured and highly effective, making strong use of the staging and maintaining a tight pace throughout. His vision brings clarity and momentum, though a couple of small details missed the mark: from Starling towel-drying her supposedly “wet” hair, which was visibly dry, to an FBI agent aiming only at a staircase rather than the targets with the rest of the team.
The only significant drawback is the reduced stage space, which meant that audience members at the ends of rows occasionally missed action set further back. Combined with the minor directional slips, these moments slightly disrupted an otherwise tightly executed production design.
Overall, this is a strong production with clear potential. The design elements are exceptional and the direction largely assured, creating a compelling atmosphere throughout. With more fully developed lead performances to match the calibre of the production team, the play could evolve into a truly gripping and memorable piece of theatre.
Orange Tree Theatre (OT) today announces the full cast for their major revival of T.S. Eliot’s classic Murder in the Cathedral, presented in Richmond’s St John the Divine Church and directed by OT’s Artistic Director Tom Littler with the OT’s Community Director, Francesca Ellis. Following its run in Richmond, Murder in the Cathedral will transfer to Theatre Royal Bath.
Joining the previously announced David Suchet (Thomas Becket) are Mensah Bediako (Third Priest), Ben Caplan (Second Tempter, Second Knight), Paul Hickey (Second Priest), Jyuddah Jaymes (First Tempter, First Knight), Michael Lyle (First Priest), Nick Sampson (Third Tempter, Third Knight), Jad Sayegh (Messenger) and David Yelland (Fourth Tempter, Fourth Knight). In Richmond, the Chorus will be led by Sally Cheng, Sonya Cullingford, Chyna-Rose Frederick and Rebecca Thorn, who will then be joined in Bath by Rebecca Askew, Florence Dobson, Samantha Dorsey, Beatrice John, Yuki Sutton and Hannah Whitehouse. For the performances in Richmond, the Women of Canterbury will be played by a community ensemble.
The production opens at Richmond’s St John the Divine Churchon 19 October, with previews from 12 October and runs until 7 November before transferring to Theatre Royal Bath from 10 to 21 November.
OT’s Artistic Director, Tom Littler said today, “It’s a particular pleasure to welcome this exceptional company to join David Suchet, who leads the production as Becket. Murder in the Cathedral is one of the great achievements of twentieth century verse drama, and Eliot’s questions of conscience and power feel as urgent now as when he wrote them. I’m especially proud that our Women of Canterbury will be played by members of our community ensemble, continuing the Orange Tree’s commitment to building genuine links with the people and communities around us. This is set to be a truly special production, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it.”
OT IN THE CHURCH
T.S. ELIOT’S MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL
Directed by Tom Littler
with Francesca Ellis
Orange Tree Theatre
12 Oct – 7 Nov 2026
Theatre Royal Bath
10 – 21 November 2026
Cast: Mensah Bediako (Third Priest), Ben Caplan (Second Tempter, Second Knight), Sally Cheng (Chorus Leader), Sonya Cullingford (Chorus Leader), Chyna-Rose Frederick (Chorus Leader), Paul Hickey (Second Priest), Jyuddah Jaymes (First Tempter, First Knight), Michael Lyle (First Priest), Nick Sampson (Third Tempter, Third Knight), Jad Sayegh (Messenger), David Suchet (Thomas Becket), Rebecca Thorn (Chorus Leader), David Yelland (Fourth Tempter, Fourth Knight)
Creative team: Tom Littler (Director); Francesca Ellis (Associate Director); Rob Jones (Set Designer); Cat Fuller (Costume Designer); Peter Mumford (Lighting Designer); Max Pappenheim (Sound Designer & Associate Music Director); Michael Waldron (Music Director); Orlando Gough (Composer); Matilda James CDG (Casting Director); Lizzi Kew Ross (Movement Director); Emily Chase (Casting Assistant); Flora Emily Thomson (Assistant Director); Zoë Thomas-Webb (Associate Costume Designer).
For good or ill, let the wheel turn.
1170. A nation divided. Once the best of friends, King Henry II and his Archbishop, Thomas Becket, are now mortal enemies. Ignoring his allies’ fears, Becket, the ‘turbulent priest’, returns to Canterbury, tempting the monarch’s wrath. As the women of Canterbury seek shelter in the sacred space of the cathedral, four knights ride out on a deadly mission.
The only question: who will blink first?
T.S. Eliot’s 1936 verse drama is one of his crowning achievements. In it, he explores questions that haunt his writing: of worldly and spiritual authority; faith and doubt; temptation and martyrdom.
David Suchet returns to theatre to play Thomas Becket. Besides his iconic role as Hercule Poirot, the Emmy Award-winning Suchet’s five-decade stage career includes Amadeus, Oleanna, and All My Sons. OT Artistic and Community Directors Tom Littler and Francesca Ellis unite a top-flight professional cast with a community ensemble to stage a sweeping drama filled with live music by Orlando Gough.
Murder in the Cathedral is generously supported by Linda Christmas.
Mensah Bediako plays Third Priest. His theatre credits include Kubulaya – Away From Home (Roots Mbili Theatre), Miss Myrtle’s Garden (Bush Theatre), On the Ropes, The View From Nowhere (Park Theatre), Driving Miss Daisy (Barn Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing (RSC), Invisible Me (Bloomsbury Festival), Oedipus (UK tour), Master Harold and the Boys, One Man Two Guvnors (National Theatre), Clybourne Park (Wyndham’s Theatre), The Water Engine (The Old Vic), Piaf (Donmar Warehouse), and Tobias and the Angel (Young Vic Theatre). His television credits include Death in Paradise, Y Swn, Romantic Getaway, Andor, In the Long Run, and Chasing Shadows; and for film, Flavia De Luce, Area Boy, Wonder Woman, and Baseline.
Ben Caplan plays Second Tempter and Second Knight. His theatre credits include Sunny Afternoon, The Exorcist (UK tours), Faygele, Sherlock Carol (Marylebone Theatre), Redlands (Chichester Festival Theatre), Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice (Globe Theatre), The End of the Day (Park Theatre), The Winter’s Tale (RSC), Describe the Night (Hampstead Theatre), The Knowledge (Charing Cross Theatre), Abigail’s Party (Theatre Royal Bath, UK tour), Hedda Gabler (Sailsbury Playhouse), Hotel Play, Seven Jewish Children (Royal Court Theatre), The Common Pursuit (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Glass Menagerie (Young Vic), Two Thousand Years (National Theatre), and Everything is Illuminated (Soho Theatre). His television credits include Call The Midwife as series regular PC Peter Noakes, Pierre, Ink Black Heart, Lagging, Small Axe, Silent Witness, Midsummer Murders, Maigret, X Company, The Coroner, New Blood, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, Whitechapel, Dark Matters, The Runaway, Trinity, The Passion, Maxwell, The Candidate, Judge John Deed, Dwarfs, Band of Brothers, A Touch of Frost, Solider Soldier, and The Perfect Blue; and for film, Jay Kelly, Golda, Pretty Red Dress, The Commuter, Leap Year and RocknRolla.
Paul Hickey returns to the Orange Tree to play Second Priest – he previously appeared in Little Light. His theatre credits include Reykjavik (Hampstead Theatre), Brokeback Mountain (Soho Place), Macbeth, The Deep Blue Sea (Royal Exchange Theatre), Waste, Children of the Sun, Peer Gynt, Romeo and Juliet, Playboy of the Western World (National Theatre), Who Cares, O Go My Man, Fewer Emergencies (Royal Court Theatre), Incognito (Live Theatre, Newcastle), The Last Yankee (The Coronet Theatre), Fred’s Diner, Wallenstein (Chichester Festival Theatre), In the Next Room (Ustinov Studio Bath), Ghosts (Arcola Theatre), Fall (Traverse Theatre), Protestants (Soho Theatre), Aristocrats, The Plough and the Stars, The Silver Tassie, Howling Moon Silent Sons (Abbey Theatre), Dealer’s Choice, My Night with Reg (Birmingham Rep), The Merchant of Venice (RSC), In a Little World of Our Own, Pentecost, Halloween Nights, Pentecost (Donmar Warehouse), Drink, Dance, Laugh, Lie (Bush Theatre), Red Roses and Petrol, and Lady Windermere’s Fan (Tricycle Theatre). His television credits include Grace, Hijack, House of the Dragon, Angela Black, Red Rock, Catherine the Great, The Last Czars, Three Girls, Critical, Whitechapel, Sunshine, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial, Friends and Crocodiles, Murder City, Rebel Heart, Father Ted, The Informant, and The Governor; and for film, Professor and the Madman, War Machine, Bitter Harvest, 100 Streets, Noble, The Devil’s Harvest, On the Edge, When the Sky Falls, Nora, Ordinary Decent Criminal, Saving Private Ryan, The General, Quando, The American, The Matchmaker, and Michael Collins.
Jyuddah Jaymes plays First Tempter and First Knight. His theatre credits include Sherlock Holmes (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Delay, Choir Boy (Bristol Old Vic), Twelfth Night (Young Vic Theatre), The American Clock (The Old Vic), 1883 (Shoreditch Town Hall), and Romeo and Juliet (Almeida Theatre). His television credits include Amadeus,Clique, Brassic, Django, Grantchester, Sanditon, and Hijack; and for film, Fight or Flight, Hard Truths, The Boys in the Boat, Criminal and The End of It.
Michael Lyle plays First Priest. His theatre credits include Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol (RSC), The Mousetrap, The History Boys (UK tours), Amadeus (National Theatre), The Game of Love and Chance (Arcola Theatre), Season’s Greetings (Stephen Joseph Theatre, New Vic Theatre), No Villain (Trafalgar Studios), A Super Happy Story About Feeling Super Sad (Hull Truck Theatre), Screwface (Bush Theatre), Belle: Rapid Write Response, The Sexual Awaking of Peter Mayo (Theatre503), Home Theatre (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Talking to Alice (Greenwich Theatre), This One Goes Out to All My Motherf*ckers Back Home (Soho Theatre), Sweet Love Remember’d (Shakespeare’s Globe), For the Best (Unicorn Theatre), and Lord of the Flies (Watford Palace). His television credits include The Sandman and The Last Hours of Laura K; and for film, My Grandson Charlotte, Number One Fan, New World, and Nuryan.
Nick Sampson plays Third Tempter and Third Knight. His theatre credits include Richard II, La Belle Sauvage, The Book of Dust (Bridge Theatre), The Unfriend (Wyndham’s Theatre), Horse Play (Riverside Studios), Plenty (Chichester Festival Theatre), and Antony and Cleopatra (National Theatre). His television credits include Dirty Business, Brian and Margaret, I Jack Wright, The Gold, Sister Boniface Mysteries, Belgravia, Catastrophe, Doc Martin, Witness for the Prosecution, Genius, and Home Fires.
Jad Sayegh plays Messenger. His theatre credits include Plays from Palestine (Royal Court Theatre), A Very Clownless Show (Playhouse East), A Brief Play About Rage (The Cockpit), The Glass Menagerie (The Yard Theatre), and The Ocean and the Star (The Space U.K. Edinburgh).
Emmy Award-winning David Suchet returns to theatre to play Thomas Becket. His theatre credits include The Prince (Wyndham’s Theatre), Peter Pan (Bristol Hippodrome), The Importance of Being Earnest (Vaudeville Theatre), The Last Confession (International tour), Long Day’s Journey Into Night, All My Sons (Apollo Theatre), Complicit (The Old Vic), The Last Confession (Chichester Festival Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket), Once in a Lifetime (National Theatre), Amadeus (The Old Vic, Music Box Theatre, Ahmanson Theatre), Oleanna (Royal Court Theatre) and Othello (RSC). His television credits include Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The Au Pair, His Dark Materials, Press, Urban Myths: The Dali and The Cooper, Capitaine Marleau, Decline and Fall, Doctor Who, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Hidden, Richard II, Great Expectations, Going Postal, Diverted, Maxwell, Flood, Dracula, A Bear Names Winnie, Henry VIII, George Carman QC, The Way We Live Now, NCS (National Crime Squad), Victoria and Albert, Soloman, Seesaw, Moses, The Curious, The Cruel Train, Separation, The Life of Agatha Christie, Secret Agent, and Kings and Castles; and for film, American Assassin, Mercy, Effie, The Bank Job, Act of God, Foolproof, Live From Baghdad, The In-Laws, Sabotage, Wing Commander, A Perfect Murder, Sunday, Executive Decision, Deadly Voyage, The Lucona Affair, When The Whales Came, Bigfoot & The Hendersons, A World Apart, To Kill A Priest, The Last Innocent Man, Crime Of Honour, Iron Eagle, Murrow, Falcon & The Snowman, Gulag, and Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan.
David Yelland plays The Fourth Tempter and Fourth Knight. His theatre credits include And Then There Were None (UK tour), Farm Hall, All Our Children (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Habit of Art (National Theatre), Witness for the Prosecution (London County Hall), The Winter’s Tale (Globe Theatre), Taken at Midnight (Chichester Festival Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket), An Ideal Husband, Mrs Warren’s Profession (Gate Theatre), For King and Country (Southwark Playhouse Borough), Nicholas Nickleby (Chichester Festival Theatre), Troilus and Cressida (RSC), Man and Boy (Duchess Theatre), and Henry IV (Donmar Warehouse). His television credits include The Outlaws, The Diplomat, Father Brown, Endeavour, Reg, The Crown, Poirot as series regular George, Foyle’s War, Bones, Spooks, Law and Order: UK, Mystery!, Waking the Dead, The Line of Beauty, Rocket Man, Bad Girls, Love Soup, Strauss Dynasty, The Bretts, A Little Princess, Nancy Astor, Secret Army, Rumpole of the Bailey, and David Copperfield; and for film, Happy Ending, Hunter Killer, Coriolanus, Private Peaceful, and Chariots of Fire.
Sally Cheng returns to the Orange Tree – she previously appeared in this summer’s open-air Loves Labour’s Lost / Much Ado About Nothing.Her other theatre credits include My Neighbour Totoro (Gillian Lynne Theatre), The Sound of Music (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (The Watermill Theatre), Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera (Leicester Square Theatre), Richard II (Guildford Shakespeare Company), Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol (RSC) The Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 and 3/4 – The Musical (The Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch), The Play that Goes Wrong (Duchess Theatre), A Christmas Carol, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Scoot Theatre), The Wind in the Willows, For Services Rendered (Jermyn Street Theatre), The Last of the Pelican Daughters (Bristol Old Vic), A Christmas Carol, The Emperor and the Nightingale (Theatre by the Lake), Shadowlands (Chichester Festival Theatre), Macbeth (Watermill Theatre), Robin Hood (Orange Tree Theatre), Footprints on the Moon (Finborough Theatre), and Singin’ In the Rain (Bolton Octagon, Salisbury Playhouse, New Vic Theatre).
Sonya Cullingford’s theatre credits include The BFG, West Side Story (RSC), Ballet Shoes, Hex (National Theatre), May Contain Food, Vestige (The Place), 101 Dalmatians (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Baal (Bristol Old Vic), Elizabeth (Barbican), The Wind in the Willows (The Royal Ballet and Opera, Vaudeville Theatre), The Indian Queen (English National Opera), The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable (Temple Studios), and Secret Cinema: The Red Shoes (Tabacco Docks). Her television credits include Capturing Lee Miller, Blast, and Egon Schiele: Dangerous Desires; and for film, The Survivor, In the Trap, The Mummy, The Danish Girl and Les Misérables.
Rebecca Thorn’s theatre credits include Elektra (Duke of York’s Theatre), Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Devil’s Disciple, and Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards (National Theatre).
Chyna-Rose Frederick’s theatre credits include Clueless The Musical (Trafalgar Theatre), Pericles (RSC), The Crucible (National Theatre); and for film, Matilda.
Rebecca Askew’s theatre credits include Eyam (Shakespeare’s Globe), As You Like It (National Theatre), Peter Pan (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre), Tongue-Tied (Linbury Theatre ROH), Critical Mass (Almeida Theatre), Tall Stories, Hotel (international tours), Here All Night (The Coronet Theatre, On the Beach Brighton), Dart’s Love, Jilted (Riverside Studios), Flam (Tron Theatre, International tour), Breathe (The North Wall Arts Centre Oxford), Goalmouth (The Glasshouse International Centre for Music), and In Their Own Words (Quarterhouse, Folkestone).
Florence Dobson’s theatre credits include Anna Karenina (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Invention (Hampstead Theatre), A Mirror (Trafalgar Theatre), Cold Threats (London Performance Studios), and This Might Stranger (The Bread and Roses Theatre). Her television credits include Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and Compulsion; and for film, Blitz.
Samantha Dorsey’s theatre credits include I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical (Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh), High School Rebellion, The Bells and The Barricades (The Crazy Coqs), Les Misérables (Sondheim Theatre), Jekyll & Hyde (The English Theatre, Frankfurt), and Anything Goes (Upstairs at the Gatehouse).
Beatrice John’s theatre credits include As You Like It, Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol andDick Whittington (UK tours).
Yuki Sutton’s theatre credits include The Baddies (UK and Ireland tour), Billie the Kid (Vaudeville Theatre), Ride (Charing Cross Theatre), Tokyo Rose (Southwark Playhouse, UK tour), Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts (Polka Theatre), and The Poison Belt (Jermyn Street Theatre). Her television credits include Theodosia and Ruby Speaking.
Hannah Whitehouse’s theatre credits include Tim Rice: My Life in Musicals (UK tour).
Relaxed and distanced performance: Tuesday 11 August at 7:30pm
Audio described performance: Wednesday 19 August at 7:30pm
Saturday Seminar: Saturday 11 August at 11:00am
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Thomas’s College, TW10 6JW
1 August – 22 August 2026
Gala Fundraiser: Thursday 13 August at 7:30pm
OT Under 30 Afternoon: Saturday 15 August at 2:30pm
Relaxed and distanced performance: Wednesday 12 August at 7:30pm
Audio described performance: Tuesday 18 August at 7:30pm
Saturday Seminar: Saturday 11 August at 11:00am
a small and quiet light
21 September – 24 October 2026
OT Under 30 Night: Friday 2 October at 8pm
Audio Described Performance: Wednesday 14 October at 8pm
Captioned Performance: Tuesday 20 October at 8pm
Relaxed and Distanced Performance: Tuesday 13 October at 8pm
Saturday Seminar: Saturday 10 October at 11:00am
T.S. ELIOT’S MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL
St John the Divine Church, TW9 2NA
12 October – 7 November 2026
OT Under 30 Night: Friday 30 October at 7:30pm
Relaxed and distanced performance: Wednesday 28 October at 7:30pm
Audio described performance: Wednesday 4 November at 7:30pm
Saturday Seminar: Saturday 31 October at 11:00am
ABOUT THE ORANGE TREE THEATRE We are a local theatre with a global reputation.
A show at the Orange Tree is close-up magic: live, entertaining, unmissable. We’re an intimate theatre with the audience wrapped around the stage. We believe in celebrating what it means to be human. We believe in putting people at the centre of the stories we tell. And we believe in the power of a writer’s words, an actor’s voice, and an audience’s imagination to transport us to other worlds and other lives.
We punch above our weight to create world-class productions of new and contemporary drama, revitalise classics and re-discoveries, and introduce children and young people to the magic of theatre.
We are deeply rooted in our local community in South West London. We work with thousands of people aged 0 to 100 in Richmond and beyond through participatory theatre, bringing generations together to build confidence, connection, and joy. Our groundbreaking Primary Shakespeare and Shakespeare Up Close projects pack the theatre with children and ignite a spark to last a lifetime.
We’re a registered charity (266128). With only 180 seats and no support from Arts Council England, we rely on the generosity of our audiences and donors to raise £650,000 a year. These funds support our outstanding work on stage and in the community and invest in the next generation of talent.
The Orange Tree was named Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards in 2025.
Artistic Director Tom Littler Executive Director Julie Weston
Behind the scenes images are released today as rehearsals are well underway for the highly anticipated first UK & Ireland tour of Mrs. Doubtfire. The hit West End and Broadway comedy musical will open at the Birmingham Hippodrome with performances from 13 August before the beloved Scottish nanny packs her bag and tours throughout the UK and Ireland. Full tour schedule and tickets here: mrsdoubtfiremusical.co.uk.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
The UK and Ireland tour of Mrs. Doubtfire stars Gabriel Vick as Daniel Hillard following his acclaimed performances in the West End.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Gabriel is joined by Kara Lily Hayworth as Miranda Hillard, Aaliya Mai as Lydia Hillard, Ryan Pidgen as Frank Hillard, Jairus McClanahan as Andre Mayem, James Darch as Stuart Dunmire, Samuelle Durojaiye as Wanda Sellner, Carl Patrick as Mr Jolly/Judge, Kiera Haynes as Janet Lundy and Rhianne Alleyne as Flamenco Singer. Adam Colbeck-Dunn is the Alternate Daniel Hillard and will perform at certain performances.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Mrs. Doubtfirealso introduces Charlie Banks, Alexander Beaumont, Joshua Miles and Dexter Pulling who alternate the role of Christopher Hillard and Santi Cohen, Harly Gill, Mila Isaacs and Hattie Leddington Wright who alternate the role of Natalie Hillard.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Photo credit Danny Kaan
The cast is completed by Zac Adlam, Rhona Butler, Joshua Clayton, Abigail Eustis, Amy Louise Everett, Austin Garrett, Cruz-Troy Hunter, Nicholas Leon Jones, D’Mia Lindsay-Walker, Jordan Livesey, Michael Nelson, Lucy May Pollard, Paulo Teixeira, and Natalie Thorn.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
A hilarious and heartfelt story about holding onto your loved ones against all odds, Mrs. Doubtfire is the musical comedy we need right now.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Out-of-work actor Daniel will do anything for his kids. After losing custody in a messy divorce, he creates the alter ego of Scottish nanny Euphegenia Doubtfire in a desperate attempt to stay in their lives. As his new character takes on a life of its own, Mrs. Doubtfire teaches Daniel more than he bargained for about how to be a father.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Mrs. Doubtfire has been created by a transatlantic team of award-winning artists, with Original Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, and a Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Direction is by 4-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks, Choreography by Lorin Latarro, and Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Ethan Popp. Scenic Design is by David Korins, Costume Design by Catherine Zuber, Lighting Design by Philip S. Rosenberg, Sound Design by Gareth Owen, Original Hair Design by David Brian Brown, Hair and Wigs Designs by Sam Cox, Make-Up Designs by Craig Forrest-Thomas, Casting by Stuart Burt and Children’s Casting Director is Verity Naughton.
Photo credit Danny Kaan
Mrs. Doubtfire is produced by Kevin McCollum and Jamie Wilson and is presented by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatrical.
Sonia Friedman Productions,in association with Nica Burns,today announces 5,500 front row seats released for performances throughout the run, alongside the full company casting for the new production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which began rehearsals this week. The production, directed in-the-round by Marianne Elliott, will run@sohoplace from 21 September until 19 December 2026, with press night on Wednesday 30 September at 7pm. Tickets are on sale now via sohoplace.org.
Starring Gillian Anderson as Martha, Billy Crudup as George, Josh Dylan as Nick, and Phoebe Horn as Honey. The understudies are Alex Cartuson as Understudy Nick, Jessica Kirton as Understudy Martha, Georgia Miles as Understudy Honey and Simon Willmont as Understudy George.
The creative team are Marianne Elliott (Director), Miriam Buether (Designer), James Farncombe (Lighting Designer), Ian Dickinson (Sound Designer), Jim Carnahan, CSA and Liz Fraser,CSA (Casting Directors), Ingrid Mackinnon (Movement & Intimacy Director), Charmian Hoare (Voice & Dialect Coach) and Sam Lyon-Behan (Fight Director). Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will be produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions and Winkler & Smalberg, in association with Nica Burns.
Designed in-the-round, this fierce new production draws every spectator right into the eye of the storm…
“I swear… if you existed, I’d divorce you”
In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professor Nick and his wife Honey to their home for some after-party drinks. As the alcohol flows and dawn approaches, the young couple are drawn into George and Martha’s toxic games until the evening reaches its climax in a moment of devastating truth-telling.
Gillian Anderson | Martha
Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television, and theatre actress, who has carefully curated decades-worth of iconic and impactful characters. Amongst an impressive collection of nominations, spanning from the mid-nineties to present day, Gillian has won 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 4 Actor Awards and an Evening Standard Theatre Award.
Gillian will next be seen in Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma for MUBI, which received rave reviews and the prestigious Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2026. She stars in The Julia Set – which will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival – as well as producing the project under her G Nus Media banner. Later this year she will be seen in the Ben Affleck directed crime-thriller Animals for Netflix.
She has also been announced to join Jeremy Strong and Daniel Brühl as part of the ensemble cast of The Boys from Brazil, a five- part adaption of Ira Levin’s acclaimed thriller. The limited series will be a Netflix production by The Crown creator, Peter Morgan.
Last year Gillian starred as a troubled matriarch in Channel 4’s IFTA and BAFTA nominated series Trespasses, based on Louise Kennedy’s novel set against the backdrop of the Troubles, and in Netflix’s wild west drama The Abandons, alongside Lena Headey. She also starred in The Salt Path, with Jason Isaacs, and in Tron: Ares, a return to the beloved sci-fi franchise, alongside Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Greta Lee.
In addition to her acting work, Gillian is widely recognised for her charitable work, including her role as Global Ambassador for War Child and founder of SAYes Mentoring. As an author, she co-wrote the bestselling We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere with Jennifer Nadel, and her second book, WANT, was included on The New York Times and The Sunday Times Bestsellers List, with a sequel titled MORE set to release this September.
Gillian is the founder of the natural botanical soft drinks brand G-Spot, for which she received the Entrepreneur Award at the 2025 Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards. In 2016 she was appointed an honorary OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her services to drama.
Billy Crudup | George
Equally memorable on the stage and screen, Billy Crudup has earned critical accolades for his performances. He currently stars as Corey Ellison in Apple TV+’s The Morning Show alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, which earned him two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (four nominations total), two Critics Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (four nominations total), four Actors Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.
Most recently, Crudup was seen in Netflix and Noah Baumbach’s film Jay Kelly, opposite George Clooney, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern.
Crudup also starred in and executive produced Apple TV+’s Hello Tomorrow!, as Jack Billings,whichcentres around a group of traveling salesmen hawking lunar timeshares. Previously, he starred in the film adaptation of Maria Semple’s novel, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, alongside Kristen Wiig and Cate Blanchett; in Bart Freundlich’s After the Wedding, alongside Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams; Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant along with Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston; Jackie opposite Natalie Portman; Zack Snyder’s Justice League, alongside Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa; 20th Century Women alongside Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig; Spotlight, for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and the film also won the 2016 Academy Award® for Best Picture; Youth in Oregon, which debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival; and IFC Films’ The Stanford Prison Experiment, which is based on the landmark experiment conducted at Stanford University in the summer of 1971. He made his television debut in Netflix’s psychological thriller Gypsy opposite Naomi Watts.
Crudup made his motion picture debut in Barry Levinson’s Sleepers, opposite Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt and Jason Patric, followed by Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You, and Pat O’Connor’s Inventing the Abbotts. Crudup played the leading role in critically acclaimed Without Limits, the story of legendary long distance runner Steven Prefontaine, for which he won the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance of the Year.
He then starred in the critically acclaimed Jesus’ Son opposite Samantha Morton, Holly Hunter and Denis Leary, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and he reunited with Jennifer Connelly in the acclaimed Waking the Dead. Crudup also starred in Cameron Crowe’s Academy Award®-winning Almost Famous along with Frances McDormand and Kate Hudson.
Crudup’s other film credits include: 1 Mile to You, based on Jeremy Jackson’s novel Life at These Speeds; Noah Buschel’s Glass Chin; William H. Macy’s directorial debut Rudderless;Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties opposite Clive Owen; the box office hit Eat Pray Love starring alongside Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, and James Franco; Michael Mann’s Public Enemies alongside Johnny Depp and Christian Bale; Zack Synder’s Watchmen opposite Patrick Wilson; Charlotte Gray opposite Cate Blanchett; Tim Burton’s fantasy tale, Big Fish, also starring Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, and Albert Finney; Stage Beauty opposite Claire Danes; Trust the Man with Julianne Moore; J.J. Abrams’ Mission Impossible 3 opposite Tom Cruise; and Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd alongside Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie.
On stage, Crudup most recently starred in the world premiere stage adaptation of the classic Western film High Noon in London’s West End. Recently, he starred in Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Ibsen’s Ghosts, and reprised his role in the one-man play Harry Clarke at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End which earned him an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor, following a limited engagement at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He first performed this play at the Vineyard Theatre, for which he won an Outer Critics Circle Award, Off-Broadway Alliance Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and garnered a nomination for a Drama League Award. Crudup starred in the repertory productions of No Man’s Land and Waiting for Godot on Broadway, opposite Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Shuler Hensley. In 2007, Crudup won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor for his role in the Broadway production of The Coast of Utopia. He also received Tony nominations for his roles in The Elephant Man, The Pillowman and Arcadia.
He made his Broadway debut as Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, directed by Trevor Nunn, which won him several awards, including the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actor and a Theater World Award. He was also honoured with the Clarence Derwent Award from Actor’s Equity for Outstanding Broadway Debut.
His other stage credits include: William Inge’s Bus Stop and the Roundabout Theater’s production of Three Sisters, which earned him a Drama Desk nomination. He has appeared in Oedipus with Frances McDormand, starred in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Measure for Measure at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, and starred in the off-Broadway run of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui opposite Al Pacino and Steve Buscemi.
Crudup received his Masters of Fine Arts from New York University and also attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He resides in New York City.
Josh Dylan | Nick
Josh can next be seen as the co-lead role in the series Tommy & Tuppence for BritBox, alongside Antonia Thomas and Imelda Staunton.
Dylan is soon to appear in the upcoming feature Scorn, opposite Adria Arjona and directed by Sarah-Violet Bliss.
Last year, Josh starred in the BAFTA nominated film H is for Hawk, directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, opposite Claire Foy and Brendan Gleeson, which premiered at LFF 2025.
He plays a leading role in The Buccaneers for Apple TV+ which had its season 2 premiere in the summer of 2025.
Early in his career, Josh starred as the young ‘Bill Anderson’, who’s older version is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again. He then went on to work in leading roles in several critically acclaimed series, including The End of the F**king World, Noughts + Crosses, Allied and Masters of the Air.
Phoebe Horn | Honey
Phoebe’s theatre credits include Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sam Mendes’ production of The Motive and the Cue alongside Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn, and Simon Goodwin’s Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre.
On screen, Phoebe has appeared in the BAFTA-winning series Call the Midwife for BBC and recently starred in Mark Gatiss’ film for the BBC, A Ghost Story for Christmas: Woman of Stone.
Alex Cartuson | Understudy Nick
Training: Guildford School of Acting
Theatre includes: War Horse (National Theatre); Eureka Day (The Old Vic); 12:37 (Finborough Theatre); My Friend Peter (Arts Theatre); Richard III (Antic Disposition); Twelfth Night (Guildford Shakespeare Company); The Importanceof Being Earnest (Split Second Productions).
Television includes: Prime Target, We Were the Lucky Ones, Testament.
Film includes: Soulm8te.
Jessica Kirton | Understudy Martha
Training: Arts Ed.Theatre includes: Cabaret (Kit Kat Club); Cinderella, School of Rock (Gillian Lynne); Chicago (Leicester Curve); The Definitive Rat Pack (O2 Arena/ Zurich/ UK tour); Batman Live! (North America tour); Love Never Dies (Adelphi); Shout! (Arts Theatre); 42nd Street Concert Performance (London Palladium).Television includes: Eastenders, Upstairs Downstairs.
Film includes: A Skirt Through History.
Georgia Miles |Understudy Honey
Training: Mountview.
Theatre whilst training includes: The Welkin; Her Naked Skin; The Humans.
Theatre includes: Romeo and Juliet (Pleasance).
Film includes: Slipping.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? marks Georgia’s West End debut.
Simon Willmont |Understudy George.
Training: Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).
Theatre includes: The Other Place (National Theatre); Turning the Screw (New King’s Head); Mamma Mia! (Novello/ international tour); Blood Brothers (Phoenix/ UK tour); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Epstein Theatre, Liverpool); A Christmas Story (Waterloo East); Sorrows of Satan (Tristan Bates); Shady Business (UK tour); The Hired Man; Cinderella (Theatre by the Lake); Jack and the Beanstalk (Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham); The Adventures of Robin Hood (Gardner Arts Centre, Brighton).
Television includes: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Codebreakers, The Royal.
Marianne Elliott | Director
Marianne Elliott is a multi-award-winning director. She has won three Olivier Awards, four Tony Awards, two Evening Standard Theatre Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. She was an Artistic Director of Manchester Royal Exchange (1998-2002) and an Associate Director at the Royal Court (2002–2006) and the National Theatre (2006–2016). In 2018, she was awarded an OBE for Services to Theatre.
Theatre credits include Angels in America (National Theatre/ Broadway); Husbands and Sons, Rules for Living, The Light Princess, Port (National Theatre/Broadway); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre/ Broadway/tour); Season’s Greetings, Women Beware Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mrs Affleck, Harper Regan (National Theatre);War Horse (National Theatre/ Broadway/ Tour); Saint Joan, Thérèse Raquin, Pillars of the Community (National Theatre); The Unbelieveres, Stoning Mary, Notes on Falling Leaves, The Sugar Syndrome (Royal Court); Company (Gielgud Theatre/ Broadway); Cock (Ambassadors Theatre); Heisenberg: The Uncertainty Principle (Wyndham’s Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (RSC); Death of a Salesman (Young Vic/ Piccadilly Theatre); Sweet Bird of Youth (Old Vic); The Little Foxes (Donmar); Design for Living, Les Blancs, As You Like It, A Woman of No Importance (Royal Exchange, Manchester).
Miriam Buether | Designer
Miriam Buether is a multi-award-winning stage designer working internationally in theatre, opera and dance.
She received the 2025 Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critic’s Circle Award and the Olivier Award for Best Set Design for Stranger Things: The First Shadow. She is also three times Tony Award nominated for Prima Facie, Three Tall Women and To Kill a Mockingbird, two times winner of the Evening Standard Award for The Jungle and Earthquakes in London and Sucker Punch, and winner of the Critics Circle Award for Wild Swans.
Recent work includes: The Hunger Games on Stage (Troubadour Canary Wharf); Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Inter Alia, The Land of the Living, Earthquakes in London, The Effect (National Theatre); Unicorn (West End); Kyoto (RSC/ West End/ New York); The Fear of 13 (Donmar); Stranger Things: The First Shadow (West End/ Broadway); Prima Facie (West End/ Broadway); The Jungle (Young Vic/ West End/ New York); The 47th (Old Vic); Jungle Book Reimagined (Akram Khan Company); Patriots (Almeida/ West End/ Broadway); Christmas Day, Women Beware the Devil, Shipwreck, Spring Awakening (Almeida); The Cherry Orchard (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam); Sunny Afternoon, Chariots of Fire (Hampstead Theatre/ West End); The Trial,Wild Swans (Young Vic), What If If Only, Love and Information, Sucker Punch (Royal Court); To Kill a Mockingbird, Three Tall Women,King Lear, A Doll’s House 2, The Children (Broadway); Wozzeck (Festival d’Aix); Festen, Aida, Anna Nicole (Royal Opera House).
James Farncombe| Lighting Designer
Theatre includes: The Land of the Living, London Road, The Other Place, Phaedra, People, Places and Things (National Theatre/ UK tour/ New York); Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Playboy of the Western World, When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Plough and the Stars, Man and Superman, 3 Winters, Edward II, People and Men Should Weep (National Theatre); The Cherry Orchard (Donmar); The Tragedy of King Richard the Second (Almeida); John Gabriel Borkman (Bridge Theatre); Yerma,Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, Measure for Measure (Young Vic); Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court); Vanya (Duke of York’s/ New York).
Opera includes: The Makropulos Case, Jenufa, Theodora, Lessons in Love and Violence (Royal Opera House); Lucia di Lammermoor (Met Opera, New York/ LA Opera); La Traviata (Garnier, Paris, and Vienna Staatsoper); Innocence (Metropolitan Opera); PelléasetMélisande, Alcina (Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow); Ariadne auf Naxos, Trauernacht (Aix-en-Provence Festival); Le Vin herbé (Berliner Staatsoper).
Ian Dickinson| Sound Designer
Ian has extensive sound design credits to his name both domestically in the U.K and internationally. He was the recipient of both Olivier and Drama Desk awards for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night–Time, which played at the National Theatre and subsequently toured venues worldwide. He has also received numerous Olivier and Tony nominations for his work in London and on Broadway, most notably for Company, Angels in America, Rock & Roll, 2:22 (A Ghost Story) and Jerusalem.
Recent work includes: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (National Theatre); The Battle (The Rep); Unfortunate (The Lowry); The Hunger Games (Troubador Theatre); Hedda (Ustinov Studio, Bath); The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Chichester Festival Theatre); Ballet Shoes (National Theatre); Fear of 13 (Donmar); Waiting for Godot (Haymarket); Alma Mater (Almeida); The Witches (National Theatre), Boys on the Verge of Tears (Soho Theatre), 42nd Street (UK tour); The Pillowman (Duke of York’s); 2:22 A Ghost Story (West End/ Los Angeles/ UK tour); Rock Follies (Chichester Festival Theatre); Shirley Valentine (Duke of York’s); Ocean at the End of the Lane (UK tour/ Duke of York’s); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare North Playhouse); COCK (Ambassadors); Uncle Vanya (Harold Pinter); Angels in America (Broadway); Translations, Small Island, Husbands and Sons (National Theatre); Company (Broadway/ West End); Hangmen (Broadway/ West End).
Jim Carnahan, CSA | Casting Director
Jim has cast over 175 Broadway shows including: Fallen Angels,Oedipus, Chess, Waiting for Godot, ART, Just in Time, Pirates!, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Sunset Blvd, The Hills of California, Appropriate, Merrily We Roll Along, A Doll’s House, A Beautiful Noise, Leopoldstadt, Funny Girl, Take Me Out, The Lehman Trilogy, Moulin Rouge!, The Ferryman, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Fun Home, Cabaret, Matilda, Once, Boeing-Boeing, Spring Awakening.
Off-Broadway: A Christmas Carol, Kyoto, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Creditors, Little Shop of Horrors, Medea, Hamlet/Oresteia, The Doctor.
London: Copenhagen (Hampstead Theatre): Romeo & Juliet (Harold Pinter); Woman in Mind (Duke of York’s); Mary Page Marlowe (Old Vic); The Assembled Parties (Hampstead Theatre); The Seagull (Barbican); Evita (London Palladium); Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Phoenix Theatre); Enemy of the People (Duke of York’s); Oedipus, Eureka Day, Speed-the-Plow (Old Vic); Plaza Suite (Savoy Theatre); Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (Harold Pinter); Best of Enemies (Noël Coward).
Film/TV includes: Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid, The Seagull,Glee (Emmy nomination), John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch, A Home at the End of the World, Flicka.
Jim is a member of the Casting Society of America and a 26-time recipient of the Artios Award for excellence in casting.
Liz Fraser,CSA | Casting Director
London: Woman in Mind (Duke of York’s); The Seagull (Barbican); Mary Page Marlowe, Oedipus (Old Vic).
Broadway: Oedipus, Waiting for Godot, Cult of Love, Our Town, Patriots.
Off-Broadway/ Regional US: Begin Again (The Old Globe); Vanya (Off-Broadway).
Television: FBI: Most Wanted, FBI, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med.
Ingrid Mackinnon | Movement & Intimacy Director
Movement Director and Choreographer credits include:We had a World (Hampstead); Twelfth Night or What You Will, Princess Essex, The Duchess of Malfi (Shakespeare’s Globe); Noughts & Crosses, Romeo and Juliet (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Toto Kerblammo (Unicorn); Skeleton Crew, Trouble in Butetown (Donmar); The School for Scandal, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Kingdom Come, #WeAreArrested (RSC); Underdog: The Other Other Brontë (National Theatre); The Big Life (Stratford East); Dreaming and Drowning (Bush); Choir Boy (Bristol Old Vic); Portia Coughlan (Almeida); Shooting Heddar Gabler (Rose, Kingston); That Face (Orange Tree); The Meaning of Zong (Barbican/ Bristol Old Vic/ UK tour); Blue (ENO); Further than the Furthest Thing (Young Vic); Enough of Him (National Theatre of Scotland); The Darkest Part of The Night, Girl on an Altar (Kiln); Moreno (Theatre 503).
Intimacy credits include: Cats, Shucked, Brigadoon (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Dracula (Noël Coward); Angel’s Bone (ENO); Cleansed (Almeida);One Day (The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh); Cabaret (Kit Kat Club); Festen (RBO); Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Phoenix); Cabaret (Kit Kat Club); The Importance of Being Earnest (Noël Coward/ National Theatre); Evita (London Palladium); Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Coriolanus, The House of Bernarda Alba, Phaedra (National Theatre); The Great Gatsby (London Coliseum); The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane); Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 (Donmar); The Real Thing (The Old Vic); Romeo & Juliet (Duke of York’s); Sunset Boulevard (Savoy); The Effect (National Theatre/ The Shed, NYC); Tina – The Tina Turner Musical (Aldwych/ UK tour).
Charmian Hoare | Voice & Dialect Coach
Recent credits include: The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, Edward II (RSC); Till the Stars Come Down, Underdog, The Lehman Trilogy, The Motive and the Cue, War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre); Little Women (UK tour); The History Boys, Summer 1954 (Bath Theatre Royal); White Christmas (Sheffield Crucible); Private Lives (Donmar); Caroline and the Birds and the Bees (New Wolsey, Ipswich); Fatal Attraction (UK tour); Bonnie & Clyde (West End); Singing in the Rain (Sadlers Wells); Company (Gielgud); Local Hero, The Taxidermist’s Daughter, TheUnfriend, South Pacific, Me and My Girl, Fiddler on the Roof, Quiz (Chichester Festival Theatre).
Sam Lyon-Behan | Fight Director
Theatre includes: 1536, Paranormal Activity (Ambassadors); The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (@sohoplace); Cleansed, American Psycho, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, House of Shades (Almeida); The Oresteia (Bridge); Archduke (Royal Court); Care (Young Vic); Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Here We Are, The Other Place, Coriolanus (National Theatre); Deep Azure, Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Fear of 13 (Donmar).
Television includes: Bloodaxe, MobLand, Black Doves, Red Eye, Masters of the Air, London Kills, The Pact 2, Hidden.
The theatre has a large cloakroom that can be used by all patrons free of charge. Out of respect for patrons and the auditorium, we request that large bags are checked into the cloak room.
Feedback @sohoplace
We welcome all feedback on patrons’ experience with the venue and encourage patrons to email us feedback@sohoplace.org
“a wonderful festive experience …I would return in a heartbeat” – ★★★★★ The Live Review
“A festive feast of music, laughter and cheeky holiday fun.” ★★★★★- Stage to Page
“a rip-roaring production full of variety, quality and cheeky laughs” ★★★★– Broadway World
Reviews for 2026 January Panto
“An unequivocal five star triumph” ★★★★★ London Theatre Reviews “An absolutely triumph of a pantomime” ★★★★★ Fairy Powered Productions “An evening of theatrical bliss” ★★★★★ All That Dazzles
Brick Lane Music Hall has announced its 2026 autumn season, led by an original immersive murder mystery production. Opening this October, quirkily titled The Pleasures of Fanny invites audiences to solve a mischievous musical whodunnit, reflecting the venue’s long-standing tradition of placing audiences at the heart of the action.
The autumn season also marks an exciting new chapter for Brick Lane Music Hall. Alongside the programme, the venue will introduce Sunday performances for the first time, launch a new website and refreshed branding, and unveil a new ticketing system as it begins the countdown to its 35th anniversary next year.
The autumn programme includes the return of the venue’s much-loved Cockney Sing-Song, Rat Pack & Friends, Vincent’s Variety Showcase and wartime celebration There’ll Always Be An England, as well as family storytelling from Britain’s Got Talent star Mama G and a special Country Superstars Line Dance-Along event.
Rooted in Britain’s rich theatrical heritage, Music Hall combines live music, comedy and variety entertainment in an informal, audience-focused setting, where food, drink and participation have always been part of the experience. Brick Lane Music Hall remains the UK’s only permanent venue dedicated exclusively to celebrating it year-round.
Leading the season is The Pleasures of Fanny… Set in the 1940s, the show is a play-within-a-play performed by the fictional Silvertown Lovies Amateur Group (affectionately known as The SLAGS). As the company present their latest musical comedy, a shocking murder throws the production into chaos, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Each performance unfolds differently as audiences are invited to question the suspects, piece together the clues and uncover the killer. Indeed, audiences become sleuths themselves, banding together from the comfort of their seats to test their theories, sift the evidence and decide who they believe is guilty.
The murder mystery marks a fresh direction for the venue while building on the audience interaction that has long been central to the Brick Lane Music Hall experience. The Pleasures of Fanny stars Brick Lane stalwarts Vincent Hayes MBE who founded the venue in 1992, pantomime dame regular Andrew Robley, Music Hall veteran Lucy Reed and resident choreographer Jack Pallister. Period dress for audiences is optional, but prizes are awarded for the best 1940s attire.
The autumn season also marks the next stage in Brick Lane Music Hall’s evolution ahead of its 35th Anniversary next year, with the introduction of Sunday performances for the first time, reflecting changing audience habits and creating more opportunities for people to experience Brick Lane Music Hall’s unique blend of live entertainment, dining and shared celebration.
Along with this comes a new website, refreshed branding, enhanced ticketing system and new creative partnerships all launching this autumn. This, together with the Autumn programme celebrates Britain’s rich variety heritage while continuing to welcome new audiences to one of the country’s oldest forms of popular entertainment.
Lucy Hayes, Executive Director of Brick Lane Music Hall, said:
“When you step into our venue, you may think that you’ve wandered into a museum. However, Music Hall is a living, breathing art form. In a disconnected world, spaces of community are really important and Brick Lane Music Hall has always been rooted in bringing people together. We’re incredibly excited about our upcoming Autumn season.”
Zara Kattan, Artistic Director of Brick Lane Music Hall, says:
“We’re always looking for ways to add variety and introduce new audiences to music hall. We want to ensure that our programme reflects what is known and loved about the genre while updating it and embracing the future: I feel our 2026 autumn programme strikes this balance”
Full Autumn Season Listings
Cockney Sing-Song 17th – 19th September 2026
A right royal Cockney knees-up packed with laughter, music and East End charm!
Get ready to ‘ave a bananaand celebrate one of London’s finest traditions as the Brick Lane Music Hall Company takes you on a trip down memory lane with their legendary Cockney Sing-Song that really is the bees kneesfrom start to finish.
Ticket Options include either Afternoon tea or a three-course lunch. Tickets from £45
Carradine’s Cockney Sing-A-Long
20th September 2026
A wonderfully entertaining afternoon of music, memories and merriment as the incredible Tom Carradine and his fantastic 5-piece band, The China Plates, return with their much-loved Cockney Sing-A-Long! An afternoon of live music and nostalgia, this is a show full of warmth, character and the spirit of the traditional East End.This performance does not include food, but a bar with light refreshments will be available. Tickets from £20.00
Rat Pack & Friends
24th- 26th September 2026
Step into the glamour of Las Vegas with an unforgettable celebration of swing! Featuring hits made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and Judy Garland, with the atmosphere of old-school Vegas. Led by the venue’s very own king of cool Vincent Hayes MBE. Full cast to be announced soon. Ticket Options include either Afternoon Tea or fabulous three course lunch. From £45.
The Pleasures of Fanny – A Murder Mystery Musical
By Shannon Rewcroft & Jack Pallister
2nd – 6th October 2026
A mischievous musical mystery where YOU decide whodunnit!
The SLAGs – Silvertown Lovies Amateur Group – proudly present a special preview of their brand new show, The Pleasures of Fanny, a farcical musical bursting with comedy, music and mischievous twists. Sweet Fanny Hood, an innocent young woman, arrives in post-war 1940s London in search of a new life and fresh beginnings. Along the way, she encounters a colourful and chaotic band of characters who each lead her deeper into the heart of a city full of secrets.
But this show is not quite what it seems. As the SLAGs take to the stage, fiction and reality begin to blur… and before long, a shocking murder turns the evening upside down. What begins as a light-hearted musical quickly becomes a riotous whodunnit, where suspicion falls on everyone and nothing is what it seems.
And in true interactive style, it’s up to you, the audience, to follow the clues, question the suspects, and ultimately decide who is responsible for the murder at the music hall. Period dress is optional, but prizes will be available for the best 1940s attire.
Cast includes: Shannon Rewcroft , Ross Tomlinson, Lucy Reed, Andrew Robley, Vincent Hayes , Jack Pallister and Anabelle Fage
Ticket Options include eitherAfternoon Tea, three-course lunch or three-course dinner. From £45
NOTE: Extra date added by popular demand. Guests can now book for Sunday 4th October with full afternoon tea.
Vincent’s Variety Showcase 18th – 19th October 2026
An afternoon of classic variety entertainment as Vincent Hayes MBE and the Brick Lane Music Hall Company take to the stage, bringing together the very best of British showbusiness. Includes much-loved musical numbers made famous by legends such as Tommy Steele and Barbara Windsor,
Cast and special guest artists to be announced soon. Ticket Options include either Afternoon Tea or three course lunch. From £45.
This show will also be touring to The Mercury Theatre, Colchester on 13th October 2026 under the name A Little of What You Fancy! – Brick Lane Music Hall’s first ever touring production.
Story Time with Mama G
15th October 2026 (Three shows across the day – 10am, 11.30am and 1.30pm)
In her debut appearance at Brick Lane Music Hall, Britain’s Got Talent’s Mama G brings her trail-blazing, heart-warming stories for the whole family about being who you want to be and loving who you are.
“Everyone’s favourite pantomime dame” (Metro) “Mama G’s stories are sprinkled with tales of inclusivity and acceptance” (The Guardian) Tickets £5-£8
Country Superstars | Line Dance-Along 29th October 2026
Brick Lane Music Hall joins forces with the internationally acclaimed touring hit show Country Superstars to present a unique celebration of country music. Sarah Jane and Andy Crust bring to life the music of four legendary icons, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline and John Denver- performing their greatest hits and timeless classics.
Tickets £45 per person which includes a line dancing class, show and afternoon tea.
There’ll Always Be An England – A Wartime Music Hall Show
4th – 6th November 2026
A tribute in comedy and song to the remarkable spirit of the war years; this production celebrates the music and memories that unites generations. Full casting to be announced. Ticket Options include eitherAfternoon Tea or three course lunch. From £45.
Congress Theatre, Eastbourne – until 8 August 2026
Reviewed by Mike Linane
4****
Operation Mincemeat is a musical comedy set during the Second World War. In 1943, Naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu welcomes the audience to MI5, where the “elite” of the British military contribute to the World War II effort. Colonel Johnny Bevan informs his subordinates that the British government requires a strategy to convince the Nazis that the Allied Forces are planning to invade Sardinia rather than their actual (and more obvious) target, Sicily; several officers, including Montagu and Ian Fleming, present their ideas, but despite their conviction of their own brilliance, Bevan dismisses them all as unrealistic and poorly planned. Sulking after his rejection, Montagu encounters Air Force officer and “amateur naturalist” Charles Cholmondeley, who has formulated a strategy code-named “Operation Mincemeat” but is convinced of its futility after being bullied out of line by Montagu and his colleagues. Montagu reads his plan, and despite declaring it “insane”, recognises its potential and convinces Charles that they should team up to pitch Mincemeat to Bevan, noting his own natural “flair for presentation” will bolster Charles’ lack of confidence.
Charles’s plan is taken up, and the show tells the story of how a small team put the plan into action and fret to see if it will work. As this is based on a true story the audience will most probably already know the answer to that but the script and cast combine so well that we really do sit on the edge of our seats wondering if they can pull it off.
The show received six Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning two for Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical and garnered four Tony Award nominations including Best Musical, and won for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
A small cast of five play a multitude of different characters in this zany musical comedy (think a cross between Allo Allo and the Goes Wrong Show with songs). It is led by Sean Carey as Charles, a Spanish pathologist, Hitler and other characters, who played the same roles in the West End production and he shows just how versatile an actor he is to carry off all of these parts effortlessly. Holly Sumpton plays Ewan Montagu, Christian Andrews plays Hester Leggatt who has a very tender moment in the show as she writes a letter that the audience knows was like one she wrote to her gentleman friend in World War One whilst he was away fighting the enemy overseas with heartbreaking poignancy as we can tell he never came home again and Hester remained a spinster for the rest of her life …. or did she? Other cast members include Charlotte Hanna-Williams and Jamie-Rose Monk.
Besides the main plot of the show there are two interesting side plots to keep the audience entertained: is there a spy within MI5 passing on secrets to the enemy and will the young girl who mainly is used to make the tea manage to prove that she has got what it takes to become a spy herself?
Some people may find parts of the plot a bit upsetting but I can assume you that the memory of Glyndwr Michael, a Welsh homeless man, who played such a crucial part in this plot is properly honoured by the end of the show.
There wasn’t much laughter in the audience during the performance I attended and I wondered how well the show was being received but at the curtain call the entire auditorium rose as one to give this show and cast a rapturous standing ovation.
Operation Mincement plays at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, until Saturday and then continues to tour.
Brand New Indie Musical, How Soon is Now? confirms a stellar cast line-up for the world premiere production by acclaimed playwright Siân Owen which opens this October in Salford ahead of a UK Tour.
Stuck in a life that feels too small BETHAN MCLEAN (The One That Got Away, BBC; A Visit, Paper trail Theatre Company) plays Jean, a Welsh outsider, who meets life and soul of the party Angie,played by KAITLYN AKINPELUMI (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; 10 Reasons Why, Arcola Theatre) and the warm and compassionate Polly, played by LAURA ROBINSON (making her professional debut having recently graduated from LIPA) in a 90’s Manchester nightclub.
DJ Spin Jim is played byactor musician DARRAGH COWLEY (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, National Theatre; The Essex Serpent, Apple TV; Spring Awakening, Hope Mill Theatre) shaping the rhythm of the night through iconic 90’s tunes his ‘Puck-like’ master of ceremonies blurs the boundaries between memory, fantasy and reality.
Actor musicians THEO WOOLFORD (The Red Rogue of Bala, Theatr Clwyd; Dial M For Mayhem, UK Tour) plays Carl, Jean’s controlling boyfriend, and LJ WILLOW (Take Flight, Rebel Sparks: Live Odyssey, Camden Stables) completes the band ensemble.
“You open the door into this club. And the noise and the smell and the heat hit you. It smothers you. Jumps all over you. Gets right in.”
It’s New Year’s Eve, 1997. Manchester. The DJ’s in full flow, and as your favourite indie songs blast out into the smoke-filled air of the club, the whole place feels electric.
Three girls are on the dancefloor. Polly and Angie are up for a big night. Jean is lost and alone. Change is in the air – New Labour, New Year, a new millennium. After decades of grey, this should be their time. But as darkness falls and midnight arrives, will they find their light?
Celebrating Northern voices and featuring top tunes, How Soon is Now? tells a story of mates, music and magic – finding your place and finding yourself. Featuring a live soundtrack of iconic 90’s indie anthems from the likes of The Stone Roses, Radiohead and The Smiths, it captures the highs and lows, darkness and light of a big night out on New Year’s Eve.
How Soon is Now? is presented by the Manchester-based Box of Tricks (Narvik, UK Theatre Award for Best New Play; SparkPlug, Sky Arts; The Last Quiz Night on Earth, Guardian Best of Culture 2020). It is written by award-winning playwright Siân Owen (Under Milk Wood, National Theatre; This Land, Pentabus/Salisbury Playhouse; Classic, Theatre503). It is directed by Adam Quayle for Box of Tricks, designed by Hannah Sibai with musical direction from Vidar Norheim, movement direction by Chris Brown.
Adam Quayle, Artistic Director, Box of Tricks said: “I’m so excited about working with this company to bring How Soon is Now? to life. With some serious talent in the room – actors with incredible voices, multi-talented multi-instrumentalist actor-musicians – this promises to be an all-singing, all-dancing theatrical experience. Total theatre.”
“Ten years in the making, How Soon is Now? is an electric story of female friendship and empowerment, driven by a live soundtrack of iconic indie classics. A reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is a light that never goes out”
Writer, Sian added: “I want audiences to feel like they’ve walked into the middle of a nightclub where a story is unfolding around them full of laughter, heartbreak, music and magic. But above all I hope people leave feeling lighter than when they arrived. It’s really a love song to music, friendship, courage and remembering that together we can all find glimmers of hope.”
Following its premiere at Lowry, the musical will also visit Bradford, Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Ipswich, Lancaster, Scarborough, Sheffield, Stockton and Wakefield.
Filled with heart, humour and hope, How Soon is Now? captures the magic of those nights that change us forever. An uplifting new musical about finding your tribe, it reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, these connections can bring light and hope to even the darkest of times.
ALLEGRA ENTERS ITS FINAL WEEK AT THE HAROLD PINTER THEATRE, CULMINATING IN ITS 100TH PERFORMANCE
Following a celebrated journey across the country and into London’s West End, Allegra, the brand-new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award-nominated playwright Peter Quilter, enters its final week of performances at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
The production will play its 100th performance at its final show on Saturday 8 August 2026.
Led by Dame Maureen Lipman DBE, Allegra has now been seen by more than 20,000 people across the United Kingdom. The production began its life on 25 September 2025 and has grown from a new play into a major national production, touring some of the country’s leading theatres before transferring to the West End.
Described as “a triumphant celebration of joy,” “funny, inventive and full of heart” and “a joyous, up-tempo celebration of happiness,” Allegra has connected with audiences through its warmth, humour and life-affirming message.
Critics have called Dame Maureen Lipman “nothing short of electric” and “simply magnificent,” while the production has been praised as “funny, heartfelt and beautifully performed” and “one of the most uplifting theatrical experiences of the year.”
Although the West End season is coming to an end, the journey of Allegra is only beginning.
Two productions have already been confirmed in Germany for 2027, while Music Theatre International (MTI) will represent the play for professional and amateur licensing around the world. Plans are also in development for a further UK tour, taking Allegra to even more towns and cities and allowing audiences across the country to share in the love, laughter and joy the production has created.
Audiences now have just eight more chances to see Allegra at the Harold Pinter Theatre, with the final performance on Saturday marking the production’s landmark 100th show.
We cannot wait to welcome audiences throughout this final week to our beautifully air-conditioned West End home as we celebrate everything Allegra has brought to audiences across the UK.
Cast Allegra Maureen Lipman Ronen John Middleton Anna Elizabeth Bower Officer Rogers Bailey Patrick Cover Allegra & Anna Helen Goldwyn Cover Ronen & Officer Rogers Gareth Radcliffe
Creative team Director & Choreographer Stephen Mear Set & Costume Designer Justin Williams Lighting Designer Sam Biondolillo Sound Designer Russell Ditchfield Video Designer Ben Bull for Big Tele Wig Designer JJ Wigs Orchestrator Paul Schofield Music Director Livi Van Warmelo Casting Director Rob Kelly Illusion Consultant Chris Cox Associate Director Joseph Winters Associate Set Designer Christophe Eynde Assistant Costume Designer Row Seward Production Manager Adam Jefferys for Setting Line Production Management General Management Thomas Hopkins Productions Company Stage Manager Freya Bramble Deputy Stage Manager Michael Clark Assistant Stage Manager Helena Thompson Accent Coach Zuzana Mikuleca
Dame Maureen Lipman DBE (Allegra) At the start of a long and distinguished theatre career in theatre, Dame Maureen Lipman DBE spent three years with the National Theatre Company at The Old Vic led by Sir Laurence Olivier. Her acclaimed one-woman tribute to Joyce Grenfell, Re: Joyce, ran several times over five years in the West End. Other self-written one-woman shows include Live and Kidding (Duchess Theatre) and Up For It (Edinburgh Fringe and Purcell Room). Other theatre credits include: See How They Run (Shaftesbury Theatre): As You Like It (RSC); Outside Edge and Martin Sherman’s Messiah (Hampstead); Aunt Eller in the National Theatre’s Oklahoma!; Lost in Yonkers (Strand Theatre); Daytona (Park Theatre & Theatre Royal Haymarket); Harvey (Birmingham Rep & Theatre Royal Haymarket) and The Best Man (Playhouse Theatre). She has been nominated for seven Olivier Awards across categories commending acting in plays, musicals and comedy, winning in 1984 for See How They Run. Her film credits include: Oklahoma!, the Oscar-winning The Pianist and Educating Rita. Her extensive TV credits include playing agony aunt Jane Lucas in the groundbreaking series Agony (1979 – 81); playing Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street since 1981 (winning seven TV awards including Best Soap Actress in the TV Choice Awards, and Celebrity Gogglebox alongside Gyles Brandreth.She was married for thirty-three years to the late writer Jack Rosenthal, appearing in three of his TV plays including the Emmy-winning The Evacuees. She was awarded a Damehood in 2021.
John Middleton (Ronen) is best known for playing Rev Ashley Thomas in ITV’s Emmerdale from 1996 to 2017. When John was given the story that Ashley would be diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, which played out over the subsequent two and a half years leading to the death of his character, Emmerdale won the Broadcast, Royal Television Society, National Television Award, BAFTA and British Soap Award for Best Soap, his story won Best Story and Best Episode and he won Best Male Dramatic Performance and Best Actor. At the Yorkshire Royal Television Society Awards, he won Best Actor and a Special Achievement award. After this he starred in a highly successful theatre tour of Strangers on a Train where he appeared as the American detective Arthur Gerard. In 2021, John played Frank in the one-man show Hull & High Water for Hull Truck Theatre. Throughout 2022 and 2023, he played Colonel Pickering in the UK Tour of My Fair Lady, directed by Bartlett Sher and he can currently be seen as resident baddie Fraser “Froggy” Black Sr. in Hollyoaks.
Elizabeth Bower (Anna) is best known for playing Anna in the TV supermarket comedy series Trollied. Her other TV appearances include Mammoth, The Secret Life of Boys, The Trouble With Maggie Cole and Miss Scarlett and the Duke. She was a series regular on Doctors and Princess Mirror-Belle.
Bailey Patrick (PC) is best known on TV as Detective Rob Brady in all four seasons of London Kills. He was also in Bridgerton and Good Omens and played Amari in Andor. He played Vinnie alongside Danny Dyer in the recent film Marching Powder. In the West End he played Trevor in Mischief’s Theatre’s Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Other stage roles include Hickey in The Country Girls (Chichester Festival Theatre).LISTINGS INFO
Jermyn Street Theatre today announces the full cast for Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’sGhosts. Carne Deputy Director Kwame Owusu directs Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Pastor Manders), Cecilia Appiah (Regina), Peter F. Gardiner (Jacob), Flora Montgomery (Helene), and Joe Pitts (Oswald) in Ibsen’s timeless masterpiece, which explores family secrets, inherited guilt, moral duty, and the pressures of social expectation. Eyre’s contemporary adaptation brings these enduring themes into sharp focus, interrogating morality and its place in today’s society.
The production opens on 14 October, with previews from 8 October, and runs until 14 November 2026 at Jermyn Street Theatre.
Kwame Owusu today said, “I’m so thrilled to be working with such an incredible cast of actors, as we stage this extraordinary modern classic this autumn. I’ve loved working with the brilliant Matthew Dewsbury to assemble this ensemble, and I’m so excited for us all to get started in rehearsals soon.”
Jermyn Street Theatre presents
GHOSTS
Written by Henrik Ibsen
Adapted by Richard Eyre
8 October – 14 November 2026
Cast: Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Pastor Manders), Cecilia Appiah (Regina), Peter F. Gardiner (Jacob), Flora Montgomery (Helene), Joe Pitts (Oswald)
Director: Kwame Owusu; Set Designer: Cara Evans; Costume Designer: Natalie Johnson;
Lighting Designer: Ben Ormerod; Composer & Sound Designer: Fran Amewudah-Rivers;
Casting Director: Matthew Dewsbury CDG; Assistant Director: Magnús Thorlacius
They don’t die. They don’t vanish. They walk the world again.Norway, 1890. Years ago, Helene sent her beloved son away from the family home. Today, Oswald returns. His arrival coincides with the grand opening of an orphanage to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his father’s death. But as mother and son reunite, long-buried secrets emerge – setting off a chain reaction that threatens to consume them both.Carne Deputy Director Kwame Owusu directs Richard Eyre’s powerful adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. This family drama examines our hunger to be free – from our past, society, and destiny – and the cost on the people that we love the most.
Richard Eyre is a film, theatre, television and opera director. Eyre was the Director of the National Theatre and has received numerous accolades including three Olivier Awards as well as nominations for six BAFTA Awards and two Tony Awards. His stage directing credits at the National Theatre include Guys and Dolls, Hamlet, John Gabriel Borkman, King Lear, The Invention of Love, and Skylight. Other stage directing credits include Dance of Death (Orange Tree Theatre), Trumpets and Drums (Nottingham Playhouse), Racing Demon (Vivian Beaumont Theatre), The Judas Kiss, Hedda Gabler, The Dark Earth and the Light Sky, Little Eyolf (Almeida Theatre), Amy’s View (Ethel Barrymore Theatre), The Crucible (Virginia Theatre), Quartermaine’s Terms (Wyndham’s Theatre), Vincent in Brixton (Wyndham’s Theatre, National Theatre, John Golden Theatre), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre, New Amsterdam Theatre), Private Lives (Vaudeville Theatre, Music Box Theatre), Ghosts (Almeida Theatre), Ghosts (Almeida Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Wyndham’s Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music), My Name is Lucy Barton (Bridge Theatre, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre), The Bay at Nice (Menier Chocolate Factory), Blithe Spirit (Duke of York’s Theatre), and A Voyage Round My Father (Theatre Royal Bath). His television directing credits include Play for Today, The Cherry Orchard, Past Caring, Screen Two, Tumbledown, Great Episodes, Rockaby, Vincent in Brixton, 10 Minute Tales, The Hollow Crown, The Dresser, and King Lear. Eyre has also written and produced for various television projects, notably writing for Play for Today, The Dresser, and King Lear, while also producing multiple episodes of Play for Today. For film, his directing credits include The Ploughman’s Lunch, Loose Connections, Singleton’s Pluck, Iris, Stage Beauty, Notes on a Scandal, The Other Man, The Children Act, and Allelujah. He also served as writer on Richard III and Iris, and worked as executive producer on Stage Beauty, Atonement, and The Other Man.
Oliver Alvin-Wilson plays Pastor Manders. His theatre credits include Macbeth (Hull Truck Theatre, Octagon Theatre Bolton, and Derby Theatre), Troilus and Cressida (Shakespeare’s Globe), Dr Strangelove (Noël Coward Theatre), Now, I See, Antigone (Stratford East), Disruption (Park Theatre), All of Us, The Red Barn, Emperor and Galilean, All’s Well That Ends Well (National Theatre), Henry VI: Rebellion, War of the Roses (RSC), Samskara (Yard Theatre), The Doctor (Almeida Theatre), The Twilight Zone (Ambassadors Theatre and Almeida Theatre), Nine Night (Trafalgar Theatre and National Theatre), Genesis Inc (Hampstead Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Young Vic Theatre), Doctor Faustus (West Yorkshire Playhouse and Citizens Theatre); Blue/Orange, Romeo and Juliet, and To Kill a Mockingbird (Theatre Clwyd and UK tour). His television credits include Curfew, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, The Bay, Murder in Provence, Collateral, and Lovesick.
Cecilia Appiah plays Regina. Her theatre credits include Great Expectations (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester), Scandaltown (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), and The Long Song (Chichester Festival Theatre). Her television credits include Wolf Hall, The Mirror and the Light, Hijack, The Chelsea Detective, and Toast of Tinseltown.
Peter F. Gardiner plays Jacob. His theatre credits include Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em (UK tour), The Railway Children (King’s Cross Theatre), Macbeth, Comedy of Errors, The Secret Garden (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, Chester), A Little Hotel on the Side, Balmoral (Theatre Royal Bath), This House (National Theatre), Hapgood (Birmingham Rep and West Yorkshire Playhouse), A Trip to Scarborough (Stephen Joseph Theatre), and The Railway Children (King’s Head Theatre). His television credits include Coronation Street, Down Cemetery Road, Marriage, A Very English Scandal, Frankie, Days that Shook the World, and Breeders.
Award-winning actress Flora Montgomery plays Helene. Her theatre credits include Under the Black Rock (Arcola Theatre), Never Not Once (Park Theatre), Miss Julie (Lyric Theatre, Belfast – winner of Irish Times Best Actress Award), In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) (Theatre Royal Bath and The Other Palace), Good Grief, The Good Soldier (Theatre Royal Bath), Gaslight (Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto), Arcadia (UK tour), Robin Hood (RSC), Dinner (Wyndham’s Theatre), Taming of the Shrew (Bristol Old Vic), The Reckoning (Soho Theatre), Uncle Vanya (Birmingham Rep), Bash, The Shape of Things (Gate Theatre, Dublin), and Hamlet (Norwich Playhouse). Her television credits include Talamasca: The Secret Order, Dune Prophecy, The Crown, Patience, Professor T, Showtrial, Bloodlands, A Very English Scandal, Quirke, Monarch of the Glen, Murder in Provence, Endeavour, Midsomer Murders, and Poirot; and for film, Mother’s Milk, The Daisy Chain, Man to Man, The Discovery of Heaven, When Brendan Met Trudy (winner of Best Actress Award at the Las Palmas Film Festival), Basic Instinct 2, and Goldfish Memory.
Joe Pitts plays Oswald. His theatre credits include Blink (King’s Head Theatre), The Da Vinci Code (UK tour), The Wind and The Rain (Finborough Theatre), and Spring Awakening (Almeida Theatre). His television credits include FBI: International, The New Look, and Bodies.
Kwame Owusu is the Carne Deputy Director at Jermyn Street Theatre. His directing credits include Dreaming and Drowning (Bush Theatre – winner of the Mustapha Matura Award and RSC 37 Plays Competition, also writer), The Bacchae (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre), and Titus Andronicus (RSC and Hampstead Theatre, as Revival Director).
MICHAEL HARRISON FOR LLOYD WEBBER HARRISON MUSICALS PRESENTS THE REGENT’S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE PRODUCTION ACROSS A MAJOR UK AND IRELAND TOUR
PERFORMANCES BEGIN AT THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH ON 6 OCTOBER 2026 FOLLOWING A RECORD-BREAKING SEASON AT REGENT’S PARK OPEN AIR THEATRE, NOW PLAYING UNTIL 19 SEPTEMBER 2026
Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals presents the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre productionof Andrew Lloyd Webber’s global sensation, CATS, across a major UK and Ireland tour and is delighted to announce first casting for the forthcoming tour. The brand-new production of the multi-award-winning musical will open at Theatre RoyalPlymouth, where it plays from 6 – 17 October 2026 and then tours through to June 2027.
The UK and Ireland tour will star: Fin Adams (Alonzo), Kalisha Amaris (Old Deuteronomy), Carla Bertran (Electra and Co-Dance Captain), Elliot Broadfoot (Bustopher Jones / Gus), Grace Burrows (Offstage Swing), Matthew Caputo (Skimbleshanks), Josie Chambers-Sims (Syllabub), Briana Craig (Rumpleteazer), Katie Dunsden (Bombalurina), Joshua-Samuel Freeman (Tumblebrutus), Regan Garcia (Pouncival), Aaron Jenkins (Offstage Swing), Hannah Joseph (Victoria), Taziva-Faye Katsande (Tantomile), Diante Lodge (Macavity), Shona Mairi Masson (Offstage Swing), Owen McHugh (George), Danny Nattrass (Mungojerrie), Millie O’Connell (Demeter), Andrew Parfit (Coricopat), Dean Rickards (Offstage Swing), Nathan Rigg (Offstage Swing), Lucie-Mae Sumner (Jellylorum /Griddlebone), Laura Tyrer (Jennyanydots / Gumbie Cat), Jaydon Vijn (Rum Tum Tugger), Jack Wilcox (Munkustrap), Jet Yau (Mr. Mistoffelees), Taela Yeomans-Brown (Offstage Swing and Co-Dance Captain), and Patricia Zhou (Cassandra).
Casting for Grizabella will be announced later this year.
The tour is directed and choreographed by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Artistic Director, Drew McOnie and follows a record-breaking summer season now playing at the venue until 19 September 2026.
Drew McOniesaid: ‘CATS has always celebrated the unique talents of its performers, and I can’t wait for audiences across the country to experience this company’s brilliance in this brand-new production. Each of these cast members will play their own special part in creating animalistic harmony under the Jellicle Moon. It’s going to be quite an adventure, and we look forward to welcoming you to join us.’
With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, this production of CATS after its Theatre Royal, Plymouth dates, will visit Hull, New Theatre (20 – 24 October 2026); Birmingham, Hippodrome (27 Oct -7 November 2026); Manchester, Palace Theatre (10 – 21 November 2026) Bristol,Hippodrome (24 – 28 November 2026); Llandudno,Venue Cymru (1 – 5 December 2026); Glasgow, Theatre Royal (8 – 27 December 2026); Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall (6 – 16 January 2027); Canterbury, Marlowe Theatre (19 – 23 January 2027); Sunderland, Empire Theatre (26 – 30 January 2027); Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre (9 – 13 February 2027); Norwich, Theatre Royal (16 – 27 February 2027); Belfast, Grand Opera House (2 – 13 March 2027); Dublin, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre(16 – 20 March 2027); Oxford, New Theatre (23 – 27 March 2027); Southampton, Mayflower Theatre (30 March – 10 April 2027); Edinburgh, Playhouse (20 – 24 April 2027); Bradford, Alhambra Theatre (27 April – 1 May 2027); Liverpool, Empire Theatre (5 – 15 May 2027); Woking, Woking Theatre Theatre (18 – 22 May 2027); Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre (25 – 29 May 2027); Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes Theatre (1 – 5 June 2027) and Newcastle, Theatre Royal (8 – 19 June 2027).
CATS at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is part of Drew McOnie’s second season as Artistic Director. It marks the third Andrew Lloyd Webber title produced by the venue in the last 10 years, following the Olivier Award-winning revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (directed by Tim Sheader and choreographed by Drew McOnie) in 2016, 2017 and 2020, and Evita (directed by Jamie Lloyd) in 2019.
Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison presents this Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production, by arrangement with LW Entertainment. Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals’ productions include this year’s smash-hit summer production at The London Palladium, Jesus Christ Superstar starring Sam Ryder, Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, the acclaimed, hit production of Evita at The London Palladium and the Olivier-Award and Tony-Award winning revival of SUNSET BLVD.
‘A new day has begun.’
From Euston station to Victoria Grove, the strays and rebels of London gather under the Jellicle moon in the hope they’ll be the chosen one. And each of them asks, because each of them dares, who will it be?
Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and with a legendary score which inspired generations featuring Old Deuteronomy, Macavity: The Mystery Cat, Jellicle Ball and the chart-topping hit Memory, this brand-new production of CATS, directed and choreographed by Drew McOnie (Brigadoon, Jesus Christ Superstar), is a magical musical like no other.
CATS is one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history. The show originally premiered at the New London Theatre in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The ground-breaking production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983, the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony awards, including Best Musical. It ran for 18 years.
Since its world premiere, CATS has been presented in over 54 countries, has been translated into 23 languages and has been seen by more than 77 million people worldwide. The Broadway cast recording won a Grammy Award for Best Cast Album. In 2026, CATS will also embark on 2 major international tours.
Joining Drew McOnie on the creative team are Sami Fendall, Set, Costume and Wigs Designer; Jessica Hung Han Yun, Lighting Designer; Adam Fisher, Sound Designer; Guy Common, Makeup Designer; Ingrid Mackinnon, Intimacy Director; Kev McCurdy, Fight Director; Will Burton, Casting Director and Alex Parker, Musical Supervisor.
CATS 2026 – 2027 UK TOUR DATES
Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals presents The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of CATS
