Dónal Finn, Suranne Jones and Tanya Reynolds have each been given a single performance of An Oak Tree at The Other Palace, walking on stage opposite Tim Crouch having never read or rehearsed the play.
Dónal Finn, Suranne Jones and Tanya Reynolds are the latest names added to the guest line-up for An Oak Tree, which runs at The Other Palace from 7 October to 15 November 2026. Reynolds takes the evening performance on 24 October, Finn plays 1 November, and Jones closes the run on 15 November.
Each of them gets one night and nothing else. Tim Crouch's play gives its second role to a different guest actor at every performance, and that actor arrives having never read the script or attended a rehearsal — the part is fed to them live, in front of the audience. Since the premiere in 2005 more than 350 performers have taken it on, in over 19 countries.
Finn made his West End debut in 2024 as Orpheus in Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre, and was most recently on stage in John Proctor Is the Villain; on screen he plays James Moriarty in Young Sherlock for Amazon Prime and Mr Hayward in the BBC's The Other Bennet Sister. Jones, a BAFTA winner for Doctor Foster and the lead in Vigil, has a stage record that runs from Top Girls at Chichester and in the West End to the title role in Orlando at the Royal Exchange. Reynolds was Olivier-nominated for A Mirror at the Almeida and in the West End, returned to the Almeida and the West End in 1536, and is known on screen for Ted Lasso and Sex Education.
They join a line-up announced in two earlier waves — the first eight guest actors and then seven more. The full roster now reads: Ria Zmitrowicz (8 November), Rosalie Craig (9 October), Olivia Williams (10 October), George Fouracres (10 November), Rhashan Stone (11 October), Clare Perkins (13 October), Tom Mothersdale (14 October), Gemma Whelan (15 October), Bessie Carter (16 October), Juliet Stevenson (18 October), Sean Gilder (20 October), Sacha Dhawan (23 October), Sophie Melville (25 October), Hammed Animashaun (29 October) and Brian Gleeson (30 October).
The play is directed by Tim Crouch, Karl James and Andy Smith, with music by Pete Gill and piano from Simon Crane. Casting is by Naomi Downham and production management by JBPM. Press night is 7 October.
Guest actors who have taken the role in earlier productions include Frances McDormand, Geoffrey Rush, Peter Dinklage, Mike Myers, David Tennant, Jessie Buckley, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michelle Terry, Sophie Okonedo, Sharon D Clarke, Christopher Eccleston, Meera Syal, Adjoa Andoh, Toby Jones, Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, Russell Tovey, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Luke Thompson, Alex Lawther and Alanis Morissette.
The run is part of a Francesca Moody Productions season at The Other Palace, which takes the theatre from 5 October 2026 to 10 January 2027 and also brings in Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, from 22 October to 3 January, and Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen, from 19 November to 10 January. Twenty tickets at £20 are held for every performance across the season. Francesca Moody originated Fleabag and Baby Reindeer on stage before either reached television.
An Oak Tree is booking now at The Other Palace, and runs from Wednesday 7 October to Sunday 15 November 2026.
