HOME Manchester, JPT Productions & Mercury Theatre Colchester, announce the full cast for the world premiere of Mischief\u2019s first musical comedy, THESPIANS.<\/p>\n
Manchester audiences will once again get a front-row seat to Mischief\u2019s signature chaos, with HOME co-producing this new production. The cast features audience favourites from Lowry, London\u2019s West End and Broadway, including Allie Dart and James Spence (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch) and Claire-Marie Hall (Les Mis\u00e9rables, Operation Mincemeat), alongside Curtis Patrick, known for Young Frankenstein at Hope Mill Theatre. Mischief were last in Manchester with Christmas Carol Goes Wrong in November 2025 and premiered the UK tour of Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle at Palace Theatre Manchester in 2024, reinforcing their strong connection with local audiences.<\/p>\n
MISCHIEF, the\u00a0team behind the multi award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, rewrite ancient history with the first musical created by \u2018the UK\u2019s funniest theatre company\u2019 (LBC Radio).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Written\u00a0by\u00a0Jonathan Sayer\u00a0(co-writer of The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery) and\u00a0Ed Zanders\u00a0(musical director Mischief Movie Night), Thespians transports the audience back to 534 BC, where, on Greece\u2019s smallest island, a brave band of bards is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant.\u00a0 The odds couldn\u2019t be higher \u2013 the loser faces the death sentence and things are not looking good for the islanders\u2026 until\u2026 Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world\u2019s first play and the birth of theatre as we know it!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cast for this uplifting Grecian musical comedy romp comprises\u00a0 Allie Dart (Unfortunate; The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch\u00a0\u2013 The Other Palace\/The Lowry and UK Tour, The Comedy About Spies \u2013 No\u00ebl Coward Theatre, West End)\u00a0as Rhapsodes\/Dance Captain; Ashley Tucker (Christmas Carol Goes Wrong \u2013 UK tour, Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of\u00a0)and Baskerville\u00a0\u2013 Vienna\u2019s English Theatre) as part of the ensemble; Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat\u00a0\u2013 Broadway\/West End, Les Mis\u00e9rables\u00a0\u2013 West End) as Poly; Curtis Patrick (Young Frankenstein \u2013\u00a0 Hope Mill Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire \u2013 No\u00ebl Coward Theatre) as part of the ensemble;\u00a0 James Spence (Unfortunate; The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch\u00a0\u2013 The Other Palace\/The Lowry) as Thespis; Josh Patel-Foster (Oliver! \u2013 Gielgud Theatre and Chichester Festival Theatre, Roman Holiday \u2013 Theatre Royal Bath) as part of the ensemble; Luke Latchman (Now That\u2019s What I Call A Musical \u2013\u00a0 UK Tour;\u00a0 Sunset Boulevard \u2013\u00a0 Savoy Theatre) as Atlas;\u00a0 Marc Pickering (The Play What I Wrote \u2013 Devonshire Park Theatre, Bleak Expectations \u2013 Criterion Theatre) as Adonis; Matt Cavendish (The Comedy About Spies \u2013 West End, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong \u2013 West End) as Bard; Mia Jerome (The Manningtree Witches \u2013 Mercury Theatre Colchester, Romeo & Juliet \u2013 Jamie Lloyd Company) as Melampus and Rhys Taylor (Millennials\u00a0\u2013 The Other Palace; Everybody\u2019s Talking About Jamie\u00a0UK Tour) as The Tyrant.<\/p>\n
Joining Jonathan Sayer and Ed Zanders, the creative team is completed by director \u2013 Robyn Grant (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch\u00a0\u2013 The Other Palace, The Battle\u00a0\u2013 Birmingham Rep); designer \u2013 Jasmine Swan (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch \u2013 The Other Palace, The Mesmerist \u2013 Watford Palace Theatre); choreographer \u2013 Melody Sinclair-Marsh (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch\u00a0-The Other Palace, \u00a0#50Days: A State Of The Nation Grime Musical\u00a0\u2013 Birmingham Hippodrome\/BYMT); lighting designer \u2013\u00a0 David Howe\u00a0(Christmas Carol Goes Wrong \u2013 West End, Private Lives \u2013 Broadway); sound designer \u2013 Nick Lodge (The Sound of Music \u2013 Leicester Curve, Dick Whittington \u2013 Plymouth Theatre Royal); musical director \u2013 Ben Smith (Operation Mincemeat \u2013 West End, Giant \u2013 Royal Opera House); associate director \u2013 Joe Allen (as an actor The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical \u2013 The Other Palace, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory \u2013 West End), casting directors Lucy Jenkins CDG and Sooki McShane CDG and executive producer Henry Lewis.<\/p>\n
Director Robyn Grant says<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m absolutely thrilled to be heading into rehearsals with such a brilliant cast and creative team. It\u2019s a real joy to be directing Mischief\u2019s first musical, and I can\u2019t wait to start building something playful, ambitious, and full of surprises together. With a company this strong, it feels like we\u2019re in very safe hands \u2013 and ready to take on the small matter of reinventing the origins of theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n
Writer Jonathan Sayer says\u201cI can\u2019t wait for rehearsals to start! I\u2019m so excited about our cast, they\u2019re absolutely brilliant and it\u2019s going to be a joy to see the characters and the songs brought to life.\u201d<\/p>\n