Rehearsal images are out for Sylvia, which opens its UK tour in Leicester on 24 September and finishes with five performances at the Royal Albert Hall — a building that banned the Pankhursts in 1913.
Rehearsal photographs have been released for Sylvia, which opens at Curve in Leicester on Thursday 24 September 2026 and tours until November, closing with five performances at the Royal Albert Hall on 13, 14 and 15 November.
Beverley Knight returns as Emmeline Pankhurst, the role that won her an Olivier Award at the Old Vic in 2023, with Naomi Katiyo as Sylvia Pankhurst. Katiyo played Peggy Schuyler in the Hamilton tour and Jemma in Just for One Day at the Old Vic.
The company includes Kirstie Skivington as Adela Pankhurst and Ellena Vincent as Christabel Pankhurst, with Kelly Agbowu as Flora Drummond, Ebony Clarke as Emily Davison, Tachia Newall as Keir Hardie, Castell Parker as Winston Churchill, Cleve September as Lloyd George and Ivano Turco as Silvio Corio. Lauren Azania is alternate Sylvia.
The ending at the Royal Albert Hall is pointed. The Hall held close to thirty suffrage meetings between 1908 and 1913, drawing audiences that were almost entirely women and overseen by 200 stewards in white; the suffragettes called it their “Temple of Liberty”. In April 1913 the trustees barred Emmeline Pankhurst, her daughters and the Women’s Social and Political Union from the building, making them the first political group ever banned from it. The ban was lifted after the partial victory of 1918, and on 16 March that year the Hall staged a Celebration of the Women’s Suffrage Victory with Emmeline and Christabel both speaking.
Kate Prince directs and choreographs, and wrote the lyrics and — with Priya Parmar — the book. The score is by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, mixing hip hop, funk and soul, with set and costume by Ben Stones, lighting by Natasha Chivers and Hector Murray, sound by Tony Gayle, video by Andrzej Goulding and dramaturgy by Lolita Chakrabarti.
On Friday 13 November the production hosts what it says will be the UK’s largest education matinee, with almost 5,000 children and young people attending at £10 a ticket, run with Go Live Theatre and supported by The Garek Trust.
An album of 14 tracks, Sylvia – The Essentials, produced by Martin Terefe, is on streaming platforms.
Tour dates:
- 24 September - 3 October 2026: Curve, Leicester
- 6-10 October: Birmingham Hippodrome
- 13-17 October: Edinburgh Festival Theatre
- 19-24 October: The Lowry, Salford
- 27-31 October: Norwich Theatre
- 2-7 November: Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
- 13-15 November: Royal Albert Hall, London
All dates are on sale. The tour is supported by Arts Council England’s Incentivising Touring scheme.
