JONATHAN CHURCH THEATRE PRODUCTIONS AND CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE
IN ASSOCIATION WITH NICA BURNS PRESENT
THE WEST END PREMIERE OF THE
ROSE THEATRE, CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE AND ETT PRODUCTION
OF GEORGE BRANT’S
MARIE AND ROSETTA
STARRING BEVERLEY KNIGHT AND NTOMBIZODWA NDLOVU
OPENING @SOHOPLACE FROM 28 FEBRUARY 2026
Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre in association with Nica Burns today announce the West End premiere of the Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and ETT critically acclaimed productionof Marie and Rosetta, written by George Brant, and directed by Monique Touko. Reprising their roles are multi-award winning singer and actress Beverley Knight as Rosetta Tharpe and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu making her West End debut as Marie Knight. Running @sohoplace theatre for a strictly limited run 28 February – 11 April 2026, with press night on Friday 6 March at 7.30pm.
Beverley Knight said,
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her legacy had long been overlooked in music history. She deserves her place as one of the architects of rock ‘n’ roll, a Gospel singing, guitar shredding heroine who helped to shape popular music as we know it today. I’m so proud that we get to tell her story and that of her co collaborator Marie Knight played by the incredibly talented Ntombizodwa Ndlovu who makes her debut in the West End. She is a star in the making!”
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’, influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history.
Mississippi, 1946. Sister Rosetta has changed the face of gospel music with her exuberant, electric guitar-playing style. Shunned by straitlaced church folk for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she’s persuaded the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. But first she has to convert Marie’s pure Sunday sound into something that has just a little more swing…
Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn’t It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe.
Starring with Beverley Knight is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu as Marie Knight making her West End debut. Her recent theatre credits include Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top (Royal Exchange Theatre).
The creative team joining Touko includes Jodie-Simone Howe (Costume Designer), Kloé Dean (Movement Director), Tony Gayle (Sound Designer), Bethan Clark (Intimacy Director), Joel Trill (Voice & Dialect Coach), Jordi M. Carter (Associate Director) and Shirley Teteh (Musical Director and Guitar).
Tickets are on sale now via sohoplace.org.
Jonathan Church said, “As the lights went down on the Rose Theatre’s premiere of this extraordinary show in Kingston, I witnessed something incredibly special . A show that delivered the joyous , celebratory quality of a musical alongside the depth of characterisation and detail of a great play . A unique and dazzling experience.
To be part of bringing Monique Touko’s exquisite production to the equally exquisite @sohoplace is a match made in heaven. I look forward to the sparks flying!“
Nica Burns said, “Two amazing actresses with spine tingling voices close up in the intimate auditorium of @sohoplace! Singing some of the greatest rock and roll songs, Beverley Knight and newcomer Ntombizodwa Ndolovu will give us performances to remember as their voices soar and thrill. Brilliant on their own and sensational together. It is only a 7 week season so book speedily as you really do not want to miss out.”
Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre in association with Nica Burns present the Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and ETT production of Marie and Rosetta.
Beverley Knight | Rosetta Tharpe
Queen of British Soul Beverley Knight has been one of the UK’s most consistently outstanding artists for over 3 decades. She can truly do it all; an Olivier award-winning star of the West End stage, astounding singer with a prolific music career and much-loved TV & broadcast talent, she finds herself recently 50 and bigger than ever.
Beverley was awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to British music and charity, has won an Olivier Award (and twice nominated for Best Actress), won three MOBO Awards, been nominated for Best Female at the Brit Awards 3 times and Best Album at the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Last year she also won the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity Award at the European Diversity Awards and was honoured at the Ethnicity Awards for her continued efforts in the field.
Her outstanding live performances have gained her a legion of famous fans, she has collaborated on stage and on record with the likes of Prince, Jamiroquai, Bocelli, Take That, Tom Jones, Chaka Khan & Marvin Gaye. Her most recent ‘50’ headline tour last year marked the release of her ninth studio album and was her biggest ever tour of the UK, including a sold out Royal Albert Hall.
In recent years, Wolverhampton born Knight has forged a formidable parallel career in theatre. Her West End debut was the starring role in The Bodyguard followed by leading the Tony winning Memphis The Musical. At the request of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber she joined the cast of Cats, playing the iconic role of Grizabella. 2021 saw Beverley lead The Drifters Girl (Olivier nominated Best New Musical) as the formidable manager of soul group The Drifters. Her role as Emmeline Pankhurst in the Old Vic’s production of Sylvia in 2023, garnered her both huge acclaim and her first Olivier Award win. Showing her versatility and comedic skill, Beverley starred as Deloris Van Cartier opposite Jennifer Saunders in the revival of Sister Act in Hammersmith Apollo’s highest grossing show ever in the venue, returning to the role opposite Ruth Jones at the Dominion last summer.
Her broadcasting work includes presenting 5 series of her own radio 2 show ‘Beverley’s Gospel Nights’, a panel judge in ITV’s talent series Starstruck and two series of the BBC1 show Just the Two of Us. She also appeared in the all-star cast of Amazon’s new live action movie Cinderella (2021) with Camilla Cabello in the title role.
A true British treasure, Beverley is a Patron for Terrence Higgins Trust, an ambassador for Plan UK, a founding member of The Circle plus long-time supporter of many charities.
Ntombizodwa Ndlovu | Marie Knight
Ntombizodwa Ndlovu graduated from the Manchester School of Theatre in 2021. In her third year she was a recipient of the Open Door Elevate Programme Award.
Ntombizodwa recently played Marie in Marie and Rosetta at Rose Theatre, Wolverhampton Grand & Chichester Festival Theatre for which she has been nominated for a UK Theatre Award for her performance.
Theatre credits include: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, The Mountaintop (Royal Exchange Theatre); BLITHE SPIRIT (Hope Mill Theatre); and A Time For Giving (Manchester International Festival).
Television & Radio Credits include: Banana; and You, Me & Her.
Monique Touko | Director
Monique Touko is a London/ Manchester based multidisciplinary artist- director and producer.
She is the recipient of the 2022 Stage Debut Award for Best Director.
Directing Credits: Liberation by Ntombizodwa Nyoni (Royal Exchange), G by Tife Kusuro (Royal Court, Jerwood Theatre Upstairs); UK Premiere of Wedding Band: A Love Hate Story in Black and White– by Alice Childress (Lyric Hammersmith); The Boy at the Back of the Class, based on the novel by Onjali Q. Raúf, adapted by Nick Ahad (Rose Theatre and Children’s Theatre Partnership – National tour); UK Premiere of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh (Lyric Hammersmith); We Need New Names, based on the Novel by NoViolet Bulawayo, adapted by Mufaro Makubika (National Tour); Gone Too Far! By Bola Agbaje (Theatre Royal Stratford East); The Clinic by Dipo Baruwa-Etti (Almeida Theatre); Fair Play by Ella Road (Bush Theatre), and Malindadzimu by Mufuro Makubika (Hampstead Theatre).
Her directing training includes Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme at Royal Exchange Manchester. At the Young Vic, her training has involved the Intro to Directing course led by Sacha Weres, Boris Karloff Trainee Assistant Directors Programme and the Jerwood Assistant Director Scheme. In 2022, Monique was selected to take part in the National Theatre’s annual Directing Course.
Her assisting credits include: Wishlist by Katherine Soper, directed by Matthew Xia (Royal Exchange Manchester and Royal Court); Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Nancy Medina (Young Vic); On the Exhale by Martin Zimmerman, directed by Christopher Haydon (Traverse Theatre); Cock by Mike Bartlett, directed by Kate Hewitt (Chichester Festival Theatre); Shakespeare’s Richard II directed Lynette Linton and Adjoa Andoh (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre); Ibsen’s
Rosmersholm adapted by Duncan Macmillan, directed by Ian Rickson (Duke of York Theatre); and Lorca’s Blood Wedding adapted by Marina Carr, directed by Yael Farber (Young Vic).
Monique’s skill set includes: New Writing, International Work, Facilitation, Devising, Script Reading, Drama School Shows and Projects, Training Actors and Working with Young People.
She is also part of The Ubunifu Space- A definitive guide to music and culture from the youth of Africa and the diaspora – the Ubunifu way. Monique is project manager for the Space and regular member of the UK reaction team on the youtube channel which has a global following of 320K+ subscribers and over 50 million views.
George Brant | Writer
George Brant is an award-winning writer for theatre, opera, and film. He is the author of over forty plays, includingGrounded (stage play and opera version with music by Jeanine Tesori), Elephant’s Graveyard, Into the Breeches!, Marie and Rosetta, The Prince of Providence (adapted from the book by Mike Stanton), The Mourners’ Bench, The Land of Oz (music by Nathan Motta), Three Voyages of the Lobotomobile, Rust: A Story of Steel and Grit (adapted from the memoir by Eliese Colette Goldbach), Tender Age, and Crooked River Burning (adapted from the novel by Mike Winegardner).Hisscripts have been translated into 18 languages and performed in 28 countries by such companies as Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, the Kennedy Center, Page 73, Gate Theatre (London), Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh), and Festival d’Avignon.
Brant’s accolades include a Lucille Lortel Award, the Smith Prize, a Scotsman Fringe First Award and the Keene Prize for Literature. He has been awarded fellowships from the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, MacDowell Colony, New Harmony Project, Hermitage Artist’s Retreat, and the Michener Center for Writers.
Brant has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, Trinity Repertory Company, Dobama Theatre, the National Theatre of Genoa and Cleveland Play House. He is published by Concord Theatricals, Oberon Books and Smith & Kraus.
Brant is currently developing Buffalo Bill’s Last Ride for the National Theatre of Genoa and the opera Mothers of Kherson (with music by Maxim Kolomiiets) for the Metropolitan Opera House.
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BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
Box Office
0330 333 5963
4 Soho Place | London | W1D 3BG
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@sohoplace
28 February – 11 April 2026
Ticket prices
From £30
Groups and education rates available
Fair access: 50% off across all bands
Access @sohoplace
Captioned performance: Saturday 28March 2026, 2.30pm
BSL interpreted: Friday 3April 2026, 7.30pm
Audio Described performance: Saturday 4April, 7.30pm
@sohoplace has wheelchair access on stalls level and wider seats available for patrons with access needs.
Ticketing @sohoplace
@sohoplace has contactless ticketing for every performances. Tickets will be issued electronically 48 hours prior to the performance.
Cloakroom @sohoplace
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