Private Jones
Southwark Playhouse Elephant
- Opens: Monday, 14 December 2026 -
Booking until: Saturday, 30 January 2027
Private Jones description
Inspired by a deaf WW1 soldier's true story, Private Jones delivers West End musical magic.
Private Jones is in London for its European premiere, on stage at the Southwark Playhouse. It's a new musical written and directed by Marshall Pailet, writer and composer, who won four Helen Hayes awards, including Best New Musical, for its production at the Signature Theatre in Virginia, USA. He also won the Connecticut Critics Circle Best Director Award for the Goodspeed Musicals production as well as writing for critically acclaimed Off-Broadway musicals and writing/directing for DreamWorks.
The story is loosely based on a real-life deaf Welsh WWI sniper, Gomer Jones. Gomer's hearing loss has left him feeling isolated. Struggling to find a sense of belonging and wanting a purpose in life, he joins a company of fellow outsiders and sets off to fight in the First World War. The friendships he finds and his harrowing combat experiences lead him on a journey of self-discovery. As it turns out, the things he values most of all are not what he expected.
Blending traditional musical theatre with sign language, live captioning and expert sound design, the show is accessible to the hard-of-hearing and deaf. Hearing, hard-of-hearing and deaf performers work together to bring you a wonderfully heart warming feel-good musical, perfect for everyone who loves a great story.
There's Choreography by Misha Shields, Artistic Sign Language Direction by Alexandria Wailes, and BSL Direction by Daryl Jackson. Plus Music Direction from Máth Roberts, Set Design by Anna Kelsey, Sound Design by Yvonne Gilbert, and Video Design from Ben Glover.
Buy Private Jones tickets to see a gorgeous coming-of-age story filled with humour and heart, an inspiring exploration of belonging, identity, disability, communication and friendship.
