A KNIGHT’S TALE THE MUSICAL, based on the Columbia Pictures film (which starred Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany) will open at Manchester Opera House on 11 April 2025 for a strictly limited run until 10 May 2025.
It is adapted for the stage by Irish comedy writer and actor Brona C Titley, directed by the award-winning Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole.
The principal cast includes
Emily Benjamin (Alternate Sally Bowles in Cabaret, West End) as Kate
Max Bennett (Macbeth in Macbeth, Shakespeare’s Globe) as Chaucer
Andrew Coshan (A Face In The Crowd, Young Vic) as William
Emile Ruddock (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison in Hamilton, West End) as Roland
Jay Saighal (The Great British Bake Off The Musical, West End) as Prince Edward
Eva Scott (Betty!: A Sort of Musical, Royal Exchange Theatre) as What
Giles Taylor (The Mirror and The Light, West End) as Father
Oliver Tompsett (& Juliet, West End) as Count Adhemar
Meesha Turner (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, West End) as Jocelyn.
Also in the cast are Robbie Alexander (Love Never Dies Asia tour), Lauren Arney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow, West End), Arcangelo Ciulla (Newsies, Troubadour Theatre), Georgia Clements, Zac Frieze (Disney’s Aladdin, UK Tour), Elliot Gooch (Sister Act, UK Tour), Gabriela Gregorian (Shrek The Musical, London & UK Tour), Benedict Hastings (101 Dalmatians, UK Tour), Danielle Huntley (To The Streets!, Birmingham Hippodrome), Thomas Inge (Grease, UK & Ireland Tour), Lisa Kerr (Women in Power, Nuffield Southampton Theatres), Zera Malvina-Aitken (Grease, UK & Ireland Tour), Mehran James McCullough (Doctor Zhivago in Concert, West End), Ryan North (commercial dancer for ITV), Ryan Pidgen (Guys and Dolls, Bridge Theatre) and Chioma Uma (Brief Encounter, UK Tour).
Cristian Buttaci, Cristiano Cuino, Nicholas Teixeira and Theo Wake will share the role of Young William.
A Knight’s Tale has it all. Expect a truly rockin’ soundtrack, packed with chart-topping hits! Join William and his band of merry misfits for a Knight like no other.
The film is a stylish, music driven, action packed adventure starring Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a 14th century peasant squire who breaks all the rules when he passes himself off as a nobleman and takes the jousting world by storm. The only thing that stands between William and his dream of becoming the World Champion of the most extreme of sports is the bad boy of the sport Count Adhemar. And when the two rivals go lance to lance at the world finals, you’d better arm yourself and hang on tight for the ride of your life!
The hit film which mixed modern music with its medieval setting garnered a lot of positive attention and has been cited by some as paving the way for hits like Netflix’s “Bridgerton.”
A KNIGHT’S TALE THE MUSICAL is adapted by Brona C Titley, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Matt Cole, Musical Supervision, Orchestrations, Arrangements & Additional Music by Simon Hale, set design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Matt Peploe, musical direction by Alan Berry, casting by Lucy Casson, children’s casting and children’s general management by Keston and Keston, performer flying by Suspended Illusions, intimacy direction by Lucy Hind and production management by Matthew Ledbury and Esme Driscoll.
