NEW MUSICAL
LONDON PREMIERE
LIFELINE
CAST AND CREATIVES ANNOUNCEMENT
Behind every extraordinary feat are ordinary people. This is their story.
Music and Lyrics by Robin Hiley. Book by Becky Hope-Palmer
28 March – 2 May 2026
● A captivating and soul-stirring new musical infused with nostalgic Scottish folk sounds and foot-stomping rhythms. A score that soars between light-hearted humour and moments of profound humanity.
● Uniquely combines a West End and Broadway musical theatre cast and a live six-piece band with a chorus of real-life scientists, doctors, nurses and microbiologists.
● Award-winning Alex Howarth directs. (Cassie And The Lights, Southwark Playhouse Borough; We Live By The Sea, Critic’s Pick and Top Theatre of the Year, NY Times).
● Inspired by Scotsman Sir Alexander Fleming, connecting the urgent reality of antimicrobial resistance with powerful human stories.
● Stream the LIFELINE Concept Album HERE. Sung by Broadway stars including Aaron Lazar, Arielle Jacobs, Nathan Salstone and Jay Armstrong-Johnson.
LIFELINE makes its highly-anticipated London premiere at Southwark Playhouse Elephant this spring. A new Scottish musical about one moment that changed history, two love stories seventy years apart, infused with nostalgic Scottish folk sounds and foot-stomping rhythms.
Fresh from an acclaimed debut off-Broadway run; a history-making performance as the first musical to ever perform at the United Nations (2024) and two previous sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (2018 and 2022 as The Mould That Changed The World), this brand-new production today announces its 10 strong West-End and Broadway musical theatre cast.
Starring Alan Vicary (Girl From the North Country, The Phantom of the Opera, West-End), Maz McGinlay (Hairspray, West-End); Nathan Salstone (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Broadway); Kieran Brown (Les Misérables, Love Never Dies, Wicked, West-End); Helen Logan (Traverse/Tron Theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre); Robbie Scott (Trainspotting, Phil McIntyre Live) and Kelly Glyptis (Phantom of The Opera, West-End). The ensemble includes Hannah Visocchi, Jasmine Jules Andrews and Graham Richardson.
It’s 1950 and Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming is at the height of his fame. His discovery of penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic, is being hailed as a miracle cure that will change medicine forever. But his heart is torn as he falls in love with Greek resistance fighter and scientist Amalia Voureka, who must return home. In present-day Edinburgh, junior doctor Jess faces the unthinkable when her estranged childhood sweetheart is rushed to her hospital. Old feelings resurface, traditional cures are put to the test and critical decisions must be made.
LIFELINE is inspired by real historical events, real voices and a real modern day global crisis. Each performance features a different chorus of nurses, doctors, scientists, microbiologists, vets and dentists, appearing alongside the professional cast and a six-piece band, making every night genuinely unique.
Composer and Lyricist Robin Hiley,the creative force behind the musical says:“Almost a century since the discovery of penicillin, and 80 years since Sir Alexander Fleming’s Nobel Prize address, his early warnings about antimicrobial resistance have never felt more prophetic. This timely musical is a celebration of the everyday people who make the extraordinary happen – and a heartfelt love letter to the medical community: past, present and future. I hope audiences will be entertained, uplifted and feel connected to these real-world stories and the message it carries that affects us all.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance and former Chief General Medical Officer for England adds: “All of us have had our lives changed or saved by antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance affects all of us, but public awareness does not match the scale of the threat. LIFELINE is bringing the issues to life and showing that we can – and must – make a difference.” *See notes to editors
The creative team also includes set designer Abby Clarke, costume designer Alice McNicholas, choreographer Leanne Pinder (PUNCH, Nottingham Playhouse), lighting designer Matthew Craigen and sound designer Paul Smith.
Lifeline is presented by Charades Theatre Company and supported by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, GSK, disAMR, Shionogi, Pfizer, the British Standards Institute, Inizio Medical, Virgo Health, Healthcare Communications Association, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, and Dr Sirek MedCosmetic.