The Royal Court’s sell-out hit is bringing most of its company into the West End. Eight of the original London cast return for John Proctor Is the Villain at Wyndham’s Theatre in February, with Amy Macken the one new arrival in the principal line-up.
Anyone who missed John Proctor Is the Villain at the Royal Court this spring is getting a second chance. That run sold out. The full West End company has now been confirmed, and it looks very familiar.
Lauryn Ajufo (Nell Shaw), Charlie Borg (Lee Turner), Reece Braddock (Mason Adams), Dónal Finn (Carter Smith), Holly Howden Gilchrist (Beth Powell), Miya James (Raelynn Nix), Molly McFadden (Bailey Gallagher) and Sadie Soverall (Shelby Holcomb) all go back to the parts they played at the Royal Court. Amy Macken is new to the company as Ivy Watkins, and Alfie Craig, Anna Francis, Thalia Gambe, Ada Grey and Tom Milligan complete the cast.
Kimberly Belflower’s play, directed by Tony winner Danya Taymor, moves into Wyndham’s Theatre for 12 weeks only, from Tuesday 2 February to Saturday 24 April 2027. Tickets are already on sale.
Belflower’s drama follows five young women in a small town who begin to suspect that something sinister is brewing. As secrets buried for years come to light, they start to doubt everything they have been told and take hold of the story themselves. Pop music and a simmering fury drive it along.
Belflower and Taymor said in a joint statement: “We’re over the moon to be reuniting with so many members of our Royal Court coven, and to be welcoming the extraordinary Amy Macken to the fold as we prepare to take the West End by storm in 2027. Rehearsing this play with these people is a sacred, special thing; we can’t wait to be back in the room and make more magic together.”
The play started life on Broadway, opening at the Booth Theatre in March 2025 and collecting seven Tony nominations, Best Play among them. Its London premiere followed at the Royal Court on 20 March 2026, and it played to full houses there until Saturday 25 April. Taymor’s own Tony came for directing the musical The Outsiders.
Several of the company will be known to West End regulars. Finn’s credits include Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre, plus The Witcher and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore on screen. James’s stage work includes The Crucible at the Gielgud Theatre and London Tide at the National Theatre. Soverall’s films include Saltburn, and Ajufo’s include Luther: The Fallen Sun. Macken comes with credits from Dublin’s Gate Theatre, in The Snapper and A Wonderful Life, as well as Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National. For Braddock and McFadden, the Royal Court run was a professional stage debut.
Scenography is by AMP, featuring Teresa L. Williams, with costumes by Sarah Laux, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound design and original composition by Palmer Hefferan, projections by Hannah Wasileski and movement direction by Tilly Evans-Krueger. Gigi Buffington is voice and dialect coach, Julia Horan CDG is casting director, and Lauren Halvorsen provides dramaturgy. The transfer is produced by Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Sonia Friedman Productions, Wessex Grove, Runyonland, Spark Productions, John Mara Jr, Jillian Robbins and The Royal Court.
John Proctor Is the Villain is booking now at Wyndham’s Theatre on Charing Cross Road. Press night is Thursday 11 February 2027, with a captioned performance on Saturday 20 February 2027 at 3pm and an audio-described performance on Saturday 6 March 2027 at 3pm.
