Samuel Barnett is back as Jonathan in Pride the Musical, leading a Bridge Theatre company in which fifteen performers return from the earlier runs and Ryan Kopel, Dan Hand, Grant Neal and Carl Spencer join. Performances begin on Thursday 12 November 2026.
Samuel Barnett, whose stage credits include The History Boys, returns as Jonathan when Pride the Musical moves into the Bridge Theatre next month. The producers have now named the full company for the London run, which begins performances on Thursday 12 November 2026 ahead of an opening night on Monday 23 November.
Fourteen more cast members come back with him from the sold-out seasons at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff and the National Theatre's Dorfman: Matthew Durkan as Mike, Gillian Elisa as Gwen, Daniel Forrester as Carl, Robin Hayward as Martin, Chris Jenkins as Gethin, Darren Lawrence as Cliff, Kirsty Malpass as Hefina, Madeleine Morgan as Debbie, Catherine Morris as Mrs Bromley, Sarah Pugh as Siân, Caroline Sheen as Maureen, Courtney Stapleton as Steph, Mared Williams as Margaret and Matthew Woodyatt as Dai.
Four principals are new to the show. Ryan Kopel, whose credits include Dear Evan Hansen, takes the role of Mark, the young activist who sets the story going. Dan Hand (Oliver!) plays Bromley, Grant Neal (The Last Ship) is Mr Bromley, and Carl Spencer (Hamilton) plays Reggie.
The swings are Joe Boyle, Billy Cullum, Ben Heathcote, Sorelle Marsh and Shannon Quarini, for whom Pride is a professional debut, together with Michael Larcombe, who is also assistant dance captain, and dance captain Samantha Thomas.
The announcement comes with a short clip from the other Pride: Andrew Scott, Jessica Gunning, Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy and Dominic West, five of the stars of the 2014 film, talk about the story making the move from the cinema screen to the stage.
If the player does not load, the clip is also on YouTube.
Director Matthew Warchus, whose West End work includes Matilda The Musical, and writer Stephen Beresford made the film together, and have now reunited for the stage version. Beresford wrote the book and lyrics, and the score is by Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, drawing on protest songs, pop, rock, disco and Welsh choral singing. The story is set in 1984, during the miners' strike, when activist Mark Ashton and a group of London friends founded Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners and threw their fundraising behind a small mining village in South Wales.
Set and costumes are designed by Bunny Christie, with choreography by Lizzi Gee, lighting by Hugh Vanstone, sound by Bobby Aitken, and hair, wigs and make-up by Campbell Young Associates. Tom Kelly is music supervisor and shares the orchestrations with Nightingale, with additional orchestrations by Cohen and Walde. Casting is by David Grindrod CDG CSA, the executive producer is Nia Janis and Playful Productions is general manager.
P&P Productions presents the musical in association with the National Theatre, Pathé, Calamity Films and David Binder Productions. As we reported when the transfer was first announced in August, it is the first production at the 900-seat theatre by Tower Bridge since Trafalgar Entertainment took it over.
Evening performances are Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets start at £30 and the age guidance is 12+. A captioned performance follows on Wednesday 3 February 2027, an audio-described one on Wednesday 10 February 2027 and a signed one on Wednesday 24 February 2027, all at 7.30pm. Pride the Musical is booking now at the Bridge Theatre.
