George Maguire will play Captain Jack Sparrow in Secret Cinema's world premiere of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure, with Phil Daniels as Captain Barbossa. The Greenwich Peninsula production has also added six weeks to its run before a single preview has played.
George Maguire, who won an Olivier Award for his Dave Davies in Sunny Afternoon, has been cast as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure. The Secret Cinema production is a world premiere and the first show in the company's new purpose-built venue at Greenwich Peninsula, where previews begin on 16 February 2027 ahead of an official opening on 10 March.
Phil Daniels takes the role of Captain Barbossa. Screen audiences know Daniels as Jimmy Cooper in Quadrophenia and as Kevin Wicks in EastEnders, and the stage career behind that takes in the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe and the National Theatre.
Phil Daniels behind the scenes at his photo shoot for the production (video: Deadbeat Films). Watch it on YouTube.
Three more names complete the first wave of casting: Lily Blunsom as Elizabeth Swann, Harrison Wilde as Will Turner and Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Anamaria. The rest of the company is still to be announced.
Behind the scenes with the cast (video: Elliot Films). Watch it on YouTube.
The run has been lengthened by six weeks in response to demand, and the production's own site now lists performances from 16 February to 6 June 2027. The producers say the best availability is currently for dates after 16 March.
This is a new departure for Secret Cinema, which is better known for building worlds around a full film screening. Here the live performance is the main event: Kait Kerrigan has adapted the story for the stage, and only selected clips from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl are folded into roughly two hours of action, stunts and live music. Audiences are free to roam the sets and meet the characters along the way. The production is licensed through Disney Theatrical Group.
Olivier Award winner Matt Costain, who has directed more than 20 Secret Cinema productions including Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical, directs. He works with production designer Jason Sherwood, a two-time Emmy winner; Alan Williams on musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations; costume designer Susan Kulkarni; Helen Keane for Campbell Young Associates on wigs, hair and make-up; fight director Alex Payne; and casting director Stuart Burt CDG.
Merritt Baer, Secret Cinema's artistic director and producer, said: “We’ve taken everything Secret Cinema does best and pushed it further than ever before, creating a new kind of theatrical experience where the story doesn’t just happen in front of you - it happens all around you.”
Performances run Tuesday to Friday at 7.30pm, Saturday at 2.30pm and 7.30pm and Sunday at 1pm, with additional performances on selected Thursdays at 2.30pm and selected Sundays at 6pm. Standing tickets start at £49 and seated tickets at £69. The venue sits on the riverfront, a short walk from North Greenwich station.
For more information, visit the official website.
