FULL CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR FLORA WILSON
BROWN’S ADAPTATION OF VIRGINIA WOOLF’S THE WAVES
AT JERMYN STREET THEATRE
With Dear Liar currently in performances and preparations underway for Aether, Jermyn Street Theatre today announces full casting for Flora Wilson Brown’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s literary classic The Waves. Júlia Levai directs Archie Backhouse as Louis, Breffni Holahan as Susan, Pedro Leandro as Neville, Syakira Moeladi as Jinny, Tom Varey as Bernard, and Ria Zmitrowicz as Rhoda. Casting is by Jatinder Chera.
Following six friends from childhood to adulthood, this coming-of-age story opens on 21 April 2026, with previews from 16 April, and runs until 23 May at Jermyn Street Theatre.
Flora Wilson Brown today said, “I am so excited to work with this incredible group of artists on bringing Woolf’s masterpiece to Jermyn Street. I’ve loved the book for so long and to have the chance to work on our own version is a dream.”
Júlia Levai added, “Flora’s gorgeous adaptation captures the experience of being alive in the most playful and moving way. I am beyond thrilled to be bringing it to life with such a fantastic group of actors and creatives.”
Jermyn Street Theatre present
THE WAVES
Novel by Virginia Woolf
Adapted by Flora Wilson Brown
Cast: Archie Backhouse (Louis); Breffni Holahan (Susan); Pedro Leandro (Neville);
Syakira Moeladi (Jinny); Tom Varey (Bernard); Ria Zmitrowicz (Rhoda)
Director: Júlia Levai; Set Designer: Tomás Palmer; Costume Designer: Anett Black;
Lighting Designer: Lucía Sánchez Roldán; Composer and Sound Designer: Joseff Harris;
Movement Director: Ken Nakajima; Casting Director: Jatinder Chera
16 April – 23 May 2026
Rhoda. Bernard. Susan. Neville. Jinny. Louis.
They begin by the coast. Then, school. Youth. Forming. Swelling. Terror. Joy. Working. Falling. Fame. Grief. Alone. Together.
The Waves is a tender, thrilling story about growing up together. Major new talents Flora Wilson Brown and Júlia Levai unite to bring Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece to heart-thumping life.
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941) was one of the most influential modernist writers of the 20th century. The Waves is regarded as a landmark of literary modernism, notable for its experimental structure departing from traditional narrative form. Her major other works include The Voyage Out, Night and Day, Jacob’s Room, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Orlando, A Room of One’s Own, and Three Guineas. A key figure in the Bloomsbury Group, Woolf was also an influential essayist and early feminist writer who helped define modern fiction.
Flora Wilson Brown is a writer and dramaturg – she returns to Jermyn Street Theatre following The Beautiful Future is Coming (also Bristol Old Vic and Traverse Theatre). Her plays include I Know I Know I Know (Southwark Playhouse) and Viking (Underbelly, Edinburgh Festival Fringe). As a dramaturg, she has worked on projects at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the RSC, and the Orange Tree Theatre.
Archie Backhouse plays Louis – he returns to Jermyn Street Theatre following his performance in Farm Hall (also Theatre Royal Bath and Theatre Royal Haymarket). His other theatre credits include How to Fight Loneliness (Park Theatre), Strategic Love Play, The Listening Room (UK tour), The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Telethon (Shoreditch Town Hall), Christopher Green: No Show (The Yard Theatre), There is a Field (Theatre503), The Outsider (Coronet Theatre), and The Gap in the Light (New Diorama Theatre).
Pedro Leandro plays Neville. His theatre credits include Julius Caesar (RSC), Fiji (Omnibus Theatre), A View from the Bridge (York Theatre Royal), A Song at Twilight (Theatre Royal Bath), Welcome to Thebes (Tobacco Factory Theatres), Tender Napalm (Wardrobe Theatre), and The Wizard of Oz (Redgrave Theatre). His television credits include The Strangers (as series regular Deputy Walters), Waiting for the Out, Citadel, Domina, The Liberator, Hanna, and Right Now; and for film, The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Strangers: Chapter 2, and The Strangers: Chapter 3.
Breffni Holahan plays Susan. Her theatre credits include Three Sisters (The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin), The Flea (The Yard Theatre), Dog Sh!t (Theatre503), Electric Rosary (Royal Exchange Theatre), Collapsible (Abbey Theatre and Bush Theatre), Drama at Inish, It was easy (in the end) (Abbey Theatre), Nina’s Got News, and Everything Not Saved (Edinburgh Festival Fringe). Her television credits include The Nevers, Storyland, and Vikings.
Syakira Moeladi plays Jinny. Her theatre credits include Princess Essex, The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe), Dear Octopus (National Theatre), As You Like It (@sohoplace), Billy Elliot: The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre), and Matilda: The Musical (Cambridge Theatre).
Tom Varey plays Bernard. His theatre credits include Hamnet (RSC and Garrick Theatre), The Glass Menagerie (The Yard Theatre), A Taste of Honey (National Theatre, UK tour and Trafalgar Theatre), Deathwatch (The Coronet Theatre), One Arm (Southwark Playhouse), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse). His television credits include Fifteen Love, Ridley Road, Death in Paradise, No Offence (as series regular PC Stuart O’Connell), Game of Thrones, Ackley Bridge, Dark Angel, The Village; and for film, The Boys in the Boat and Pond Life.
Ria Zmitrowicz plays Rhoda. Her theatre credits include The Glow, Gundog, Bad Roads, X (Royal Court Theatre), The Welkin (National Theatre), The Doctor, Three Sisters, Dance Nation (Almeida Theatre), Plastic (Theatre Royal Bath), The Crucible (Royal Exchange Theatre), Arcadia (UK tour), God’s Property (Soho Theatre) and Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead Theatre and Trafalgar Theatre). Her television credits include Make That Movie, Sherwood, The Power, Through the Gates, Three Girls, Mr Selfridge, Outlaws, Youngers, Nightshift, The Midnight Beast, Murder on the Home Front, Whitechapel and The Third Day: Autumn; and for film, Misbehaviour and Teen Spirit.
Júlia Levai directs. Her directing credits include Petty Men (Arcola Theatre), Radiant Boy, Smoke (Southwark Playhouse), We’ll Be Who We Are (VAULT Festival), Northern Girls (Pilot Theatre),Did I Wake You? (Young Vic as part of ‘Five Plays’), The Prince of Homburg (The Space) and There Has Possibly Been an Incident (Blue Elephant Theatre). Her assistant and associate directing credits includeCoriolanus, Dear Octopus (National Theatre), Hope Has a Happy Meal (Royal Court Theatre), All’s Well That Ends Well (RSC), L’Illusion Comique (National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia) and Nora: A Doll’s House (Young Vic Theatre). Levai is an MGCFutures bursary recipient and was previously Director in Residence at the National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia. She is a script reader for NT Studio, Papatango Prize, The Bruntwood Prize and The Women’s Prize for Playwriting.
LISTINGS
THE WAVES
16B Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6ST
Box Office: 020 7287 2875
www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk
DEAR LIAR
Until 7 March 2026
Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Relaxed Performances: Thursday 26 February at 7:30pm
Tickets from £18
AETHER
16 March – 4 April 2026
Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesday and Saturday
Tickets from £22
THE WAVES
16 April – 23 May 2026
Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Relaxed Performances: Thursday 30 April at 7:30pm & Tuesday 12 May at 3pm
Captioned Performance: Monday 11 May at 7:30pm
Tickets from £18
WIFE TO JAMES WHELAN
25 June – 25 July 2026
Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm
3pm matinees on Tuesdays and Saturdays
Relaxed Performances: Tuesday 7 July at 3pm & Thursday 16 July at 7:30pm
Captioned Performance: Monday 13 July at 7:30pm
Tickets from £18