Cast and creative team announced for MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG at Watermill Theatre
The cast and creative team has been announced for the world premiere stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling mystery novel Murder Before Evensong, which plays at the Watermill Theatre from 25 September – 14 November.
The cast includes Ian Hallard (The Way Old Friends Do, West End) as Canon Daniel Clement, Ajani Cabey (Hamnet, RSC/West End/US Tour) as Alex de Floures and Harvey Porteous, Caroline Gruber (Glorious, UK tour) as Audrey Clement and Kath Sharman, David Hounslow (Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe) as Bernard de Floures, Ned Thwaite and Edgy Liversedge, Kate Russell-Smith (Fawlty Towers, West End) as Honoria de Floures, Dora Sharman and Anne Dollinger, Jaz Singh Deol (The Psychic, York Theatre Royal) as D.S. Neil Vanloo and Anthony Bowness, Julie Teal (The Chalk Garden, Theatre Royal Windsor) as Stella Harper and Margaret Porteous, and Alex Wilson (Lark Rise to Candleford, Watermill Theatre/Theatre By the Lake) as Theo Clement and Nathan Liversedge.
Murder Before Evensong has been adapted for stage by Paul Hart and Shaun McKenna – who were behind the multi-award winning 2023 production of The Lord of the Rings.
Sometimes we must adapt or die...
In 1988, the postcard-perfect village of Champton is centred around St Mary’s Church, where traditions, rituals and long-held relationships shape everyday life. The parish is a tightly-knit community, full of familiar faces and quietly simmering rivalries.
At its heart are Canon Daniel Clement, his formidable and ever-watchful mother Audrey, and his actor brother Theo.
When a shocking murder shatters Champton’s quiet routines, the calm surface of village life begins to crack as suspicion spreads and long-buried secrets rise to the surface.
With the police searching for answers and fear rippling through the parish, Daniel finds himself drawn into a dangerous investigation. As he begins to piece together clues, motives and hidden histories, a darker truth about the village slowly comes to light.
Set against the rhythms of church life, Murder Before Evensong is a gripping new stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling mystery. As the bodies mount and the past refuses to stay buried, Daniel must hold his fractured community together… and uncover the killer in their midst.
Don’t miss this thrilling world premiere - where every pew holds a secret, and anyone could be guilty of murder.
The full creative team comprises director Paul Hart, set & costume designer Ceci Calf, lighting designer Charly Dunford, sound designer Steven Atkinson, video designer Rachel Sampley, intimacy director Foxy, dialect coach Elspeth Morrison, and casting director Cydney Beech.
Paul Hart said: “It takes a village to create… a village. And the Watermill is surely the most perfect theatre in the country to bring Richard’s glorious novel to the stage. We have assembled an extraordinary cast who will bring vivid detail and incredible range to the various, beloved characters who make up this community. And I’m delighted to be collaborating again with this creative team who we last worked with on The Autobiography of a Cad. We can’t wait to bring this world premiere to life.“