The co-production with Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, and ETT will make its West End premiere early next year, following a successful short UK tour earlier this year.
Marie and Rosetta. Photo credit Seamus Ryan. Design by Bob King
Written by George Brant and directed by Monique Touko, Marie and Rosetta will play at the @sohoplace from 28 February for a limited run. Reprising their roles in the London run are the multi-award-winning singer and actress Beverley Knight (The Drifters Girl) as Rosetta Tharpe, and Ntombizodwa Ndlovu (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester) will make her West End debut as Marie Knight.
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!”
Set in Mississippi in 1946, Marie and Rosetta restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was known as the roof-raising 'godmother of rock 'n' roll', influencing countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. Shunned by the church for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she persuades the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. Aided by a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including "Didn't It Rain" and "Peace in the Valley", this musical will showcase one of the most revolutionary duos in music history.
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).
Marie and Rosetta will play at @sohoplace from 28 February to 11 April 2026.
