Beverley Knight leads full cast for Sylvia's UK tour and Royal Albert Hall run
by Best of Theatre Staff on Friday 17 July 2026, 1:27 pm in Cast Changes and Announcements
Full casting has been announced for Sylvia, the Olivier-nominated hip hop, funk and soul musical, ahead of a UK tour this autumn that culminates in five performances at the Royal Albert Hall from 13-15 November 2026. Beverley Knight reprises her Olivier Award-winning role as Emmeline Pankhurst, with Naomi Katiyo joining as Sylvia Pankhurst.
Full casting has been announced for Sylvia, the Olivier-nominated hip hop, funk and soul musical, which returns for a limited UK tour this autumn ahead of five performances at the Royal Albert Hall from 13-15 November 2026.
Beverley Knight MBE reprises her Olivier Award-winning role as Emmeline Pankhurst, joined by Naomi Katiyo as Sylvia Pankhurst. Katiyo, whose credits include Hamilton and Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical, replaces Sharon Rose, who has withdrawn from the production.
Beverley Knight's stage credits include Sister Act, The Drifters Girl and Memphis The Musical. She first played Emmeline Pankhurst in the show's 2023 world premiere at The Old Vic, winning her first Olivier Award.
Returning to Sylvia from The Old Vic production are Kelly Agbowu (Mrs Flora 'The General' Drummond/Betty Savoy), Claudia-Rose Carlier (Swing), Jaye Marshall (Swing), Kirstie Skivington (Adela Pankhurst) and Ellena Vincent (Christabel Pankhurst).
They are joined by Lauren Azania (Swing), Zion Battles (Swing), Ebony Clarke (Emily Davison/Daisy Parsons), Eloise Davies (Annie Kenney/Norah Smyth), Solomon Davy (Prime Minister Asquith/Richard Pankhurst), Collette Guitart (Clementine Churchill/Julia Scurr), Leah Hill (Edith Garrud/Mollie Bird), Nathan Louis-Fernand (Swing), Tachia Newall (Keir Hardie/Lord Cromer), Uzuazo O'David (Harry Pankhurst), Castell Parker (Winston Churchill/George Lansbury), Cleve September (Lloyd George/Lord Curzon), Kenedy Small (Jennie Churchill/Edna Payne/Sophia Singh) and Ivano Turco (Silvio Corio/Sir Almroth Wright).
Produced in association with Curve, the tour opens at Leicester's Curve (24 September - 3 October) before visiting Birmingham Hippodrome (6-10 October), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (13-17 October), Salford's Lowry (19-24 October), Norwich Theatre (28-31 October) and Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre (2-7 November), culminating at the Royal Albert Hall on 13, 14 and 15 November 2026.
The Royal Albert Hall was the home of more than 20 suffragette rallies and some of the most historic speeches in the fight for women's suffrage. Following the intensification of militant tactics, the Hall's trustees banned Emmeline Pankhurst, her daughters and the Women's Social and Political Union from the venue in April 1913 - making the suffragettes the first political group ever barred from the Hall - before lifting the ban after the partial victory of 1918.
Sylvia will also host the UK's largest ever education matinee on Friday 13 November. Delivered in partnership with Go Live Theatre and supported by The Garek Trust, the performance will welcome almost 5,000 children and young people, with tickets priced at just £10.
The production features a book by Kate Prince with Priya Parmar, music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, and lyrics, direction and choreography by Kate Prince. The creative team also includes Ben Stones (set and costume), Natasha Chivers and Hector Murray (lighting), Tony Gayle (sound), Andrzej Goulding (video and animation), Cynthia De La Rosa (wigs, hair and make-up), Mark Dickman (orchestrations), Sean Green (music supervisor), Stuart Burt (casting), Lolita Chakrabarti (dramaturgy) and Tachia Newall (additional lyrics).
Following its sell-out world premiere at The Old Vic in 2023, Sylvia tells the untold story of Sylvia Pankhurst - the rebellious middle child of Emmeline Pankhurst - who ignited a revolution for working women, the impoverished and the silenced. A co-production between The Old Vic and ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company in association with Sadler's Wells, it is presented by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and PW Productions. The tour is supported by a grant from the Arts Council's Incentivising Touring scheme.
A companion album, 'Sylvia - The Essentials', featuring 14 tracks from the musical and produced by Grammy Award winner Martin Terefe, is available on all streaming platforms.