Niamh Cusack, Katherine Kingsley and Edward Bennett are among eight actors in a development workshop of In Marrakech, a new musical by Kate Marlais and Alex Young. The week ends with a sharing at Jerwood Space in London on Friday 2 October 2026.
Concord Theatricals is presenting the workshop, and Josh Seymour directs. Rehearsals are under way this week, building to Friday's sharing.
Kat Ronney plays Jess, alongside Niamh Cusack as Judith, Katherine Kingsley as Tina and Edward Bennett as Mike. Sharif Afifi plays Bachir, Malek Alkoni plays Rafiq, Gregor Milne plays Luke and Eleanor Nawal plays Nadia.
The musical follows the women of one British family across three generations, thrown together in Marrakech and working their way from old resentments towards reconciliation. At its centre is Jess, a young climate activist with a public name who is close to collapse when she is sent to stay at her grandmother's riad in the city. There she finds a household of storytellers, dreamers and misfits, and their lives start to tangle with hers. Moroccan storytelling traditions run up against modern ideas, and the contemporary score draws on Moroccan sounds.
Sean Patrick Flahaven, Chief Theatricals Executive of Concord Theatricals and BMG, said the company was continuing its work with the writers: "After seeing a 15-minute excerpt of In Marrakech at the BEAM festival pre-pandemic, I was keen to see and hear more. After much more writing and development, we're very excited to continue our work with Kate and Alex to discover what this moving, generational story and captivating score can become."
The cast brings plenty of stage form. Ronney played Rose in Titanique at the Criterion Theatre, and Bennett was Thomas Cromwell in A Man For All Seasons, which went from Theatre Royal Bath to the West End. Kingsley's Olivier-nominated work includes Piaf, Singin' in the Rain and A Midsummer Night's Dream, while Afifi was part of the Olivier-nominated The Band's Visit at the Donmar Warehouse. Cusack's National Theatre credits include My Brilliant Friend, and she has worked with Seymour before, on That Face at the Orange Tree Theatre.
Yshani Perinpanayagam is musical director, Hattie North is sound designer, Saeida Rouass is dramaturg and Robert Perkins is stage manager. Samir Nacer on percussion and Nick Fitch on guitar make up the band, with backing vocals from Oliver Cave, Olivia Bloom, Charlotte Rose Dixon, Nic Myers and Noah Van Renswoude.
Marlais is a composer, writer, musical director and sound designer, and was Cameron Mackintosh Composer-in-Residence at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2018/19. She is currently composer, musical director and sound designer for Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal, which is now in rehearsal with Amelia Bullmore. Young is a performer whose credits include Operation Mincemeat and Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Seymour won the Off-West End Award for Best Director in 2016 for One Arm at Southwark Playhouse, and his 2025 A Streetcar Named Desire at the Sheffield Crucible was nominated for Best Play Revival at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards.
A workshop is a step in the development of a new musical rather than a run, and no dates for a full production of In Marrakech have been announced.
