The first production photos of Franz & Marie are out from the Charing Cross Theatre, where Brenock O'Connor and Jade Oswald lead a 14-strong company of actor-musicians in the new folk musical.
Acom and Charing Cross Theatre Productions have released Danny Kaan's production photos of Franz & Marie, which is now in performance at the Charing Cross Theatre. The pictures take in the uniformed platoon, the fog-filled outpost, the army doctor's white-coated team and the band of actor-musicians who play the score on stage.
Brenock O'Connor plays Woyzeck and Jade Oswald plays Marie. The musical takes Georg Büchner's Woyzeck as its starting point but gives Marie equal place with Franz at the centre of the story. It is set in a battle-scarred Europe at the end of the 19th century, among young soldiers who have spent months at a remote post waiting for orders. Franz, still plagued by nightmares from the front, has agreed to undergo the army doctor's medical experiments to earn extra money for Marie and their baby, and the strain leads to catastrophe.
The rest of the principal cast is Steve Simmonds as Sergeant Ursid, Paula James as Zella, Richard Emerson Gould as Doctor Simian, Matthew Heywood as Drum Major Varg, Max Alexander-Taylor as André Schmitt, Mark Meadows as Captain Peccary, Eve Polycarpou as Vashti and Elaine Hua Jones as Kat. Antony Lam, Anne-Marie Piazza, Emily Panes and Tom Aubrey complete the ensemble, the last of them in his professional stage debut.
The indie-folk score was first commissioned by the Korean musical theatre company Acom from Chris Broderick and Rob Shepherd, both of the Medway band The Singing Loins. Their take on Woyzeck was staged at the LG Arts Center in Seoul in 2014. Broderick wrote the book and lyrics, and the music is by Shepherd and Broderick. Teresa Howard has newly adapted the piece for this 2026 production, with additional music, arrangements and orchestrations by Steven Edis. Michael Oakley directs, with choreography by Ben Wright.
The casting was first announced in August, and the production is covered in more detail in everything you need to know about Franz & Marie.
Franz & Marie runs at the Charing Cross Theatre until Saturday 14 November 2026.
