Khalid Abdalla, Matthew Bayton, Melanie La Barrie and More Join AN OAK TREE at The Other Palace

Khalid Abdalla, Matthew Bayton, Phoebe Campbell, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Jack Holden, Melanie La Barrie and Sid Sagar are announced as part of the lineup for Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree at The Other Palace, running until 15 November 2026, produced by Francesca Moody Productions (FMP).

A different guest artist will join Tim Crouch for each performance with actors already announced including Hammed Animashaun, Bessie Carter, Rosalie Craig, Sacha Dhawan, Dónal Finn, Josh Finan, George Fouracres, Sean Gilder, Brian Gleeson, Suranne Jones, Aysha Kala, Kadiff Kirwan, Adrian Lester, Katie Leung, Sophie Melville, Tom Mothersdale, Clare Perkins, Tanya Reynolds, Hugh Skinner, Reece Shearsmith, Rosie Sheehy, Juliet Stevenson, Rhashan Stone, Gemma Whelan, Olivia Williams, and Ria Zmitrowicz.

Today, Francesca Moody Productions (FMP) has announced that Khalid Abdalla, Matthew Bayton, Phoebe Campbell, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Jack Holden and Sid Sagar will join the line-up for An Oak Tree running at The Other Palace until 15 November. A play that shaped the theatre landscape, its groundbreaking premise sees a different guest artist join Tim Crouch for every performance, stepping on stage without ever having read or rehearsed the play. Tickets on sale now from theotherpalace.co.uk/an-oak-tree

Khalid Abdalla (Prima Facie; Secret Service, ITV) performs on 13 November, Matthew Bayton (Ghosts; Horrible Histories, BBC) performs on 28 October, Phoebe Campbell (House of Dragon, HBO; Alma Mater, Almedia Theatre) on 27 October, Caitlin Fitzgerald (Othello, West End; We Were Liars, Amazon) on 22 October, Jack Holden (Kenrex, The Other Palace; Cruise, West End) performs on 11 November, Melanie La Barrie (Cats, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; & Juliet, West End & Broadway) on 24 October and Sid Sagar (Mrs Warren’s Profession, Garrick Theatre; Summerfolk, National Theatre) on 17 October.

They join the previously announced cast which includes: Hammed Animashaun (SNL UK, Sky; Dealers Choice, Donmar Warehouse) on 29 October, Bessie Carter (Bridgerton, Netflix; Mrs. Warren’s Profession; Garrick Theatre) on 16 October, Rosalie Craig (Riot Women, BBC; Good Night, Oscar, Barbican) on 9 October, Sacha Dhawan (Doctor Who, BBC and The Great, Hulu) on 23 October, George Fouracres (SNL UK, Sky; Hamlet, Globe Theatre) on 10 November, Josh Finan (Say Nothing, FX; The Responder, BBC) on 17 October (matinee), Dónal Finn (Young Sherlock, Amazon Prime; The Other Bennet Sister, BBC) will perform on 1 November, Sean Gilder (Bad Apples; Dear England, National Theatre) on 20 October, Brian Gleeson (Bad Sisters, Apple; The Brightening Air, Old Vic Theatre) on 30 October, Suranne Jones (Vigil and Doctor Foster, BBC) will perform on 15 November, Aysha Kala (The Split Up, BBC; Teeth N Smiles, West End) will perform on 5 November, Kadiff Kirwan (The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, RSC; Slow Horses, Apple) will perform on 21 October, Adrian Lester (Cyrano de Bergerac, West End; Ponies, Sky) will perform on 3 November, Katie Leung (Bridgeton, Netflix; The Peripheral, Amazon) will perform on 12 November, Sophie Melville (Clarkston, Trafalgar Theatre; Iphigenia in Splott, Lyric Hammersmith) on 25 October, Tom Mothersdale (A Doll’s House, Almeida; Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, BBC) on 14 October, Prasanna Puwanarajah (Arcadia, Old Vic; Too Much, Netflix) on 8 October, Clare Perkins (Romeo & Juliet, Harold Pinter Theatre; Player Kings, Noël Coward Theatre) on 13 October, Tanya Reynolds (Ted Lasso, Apple and 1536 Almeida/West End) will perform on 24 October (evening), Hugh Skinner (W1A, BBC; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) on 4 November, Reece Shearsmith (Inside No.9, BBC; The League of Gentleman, BBC) on 6 November, Rosie Sheehy (Guess How Much I Love You, Royal Court; Machinal, The Old Vic) will perform on 7 November, Juliet Stevenson (Truly, Madly, Deeply; The Doctor, Almeida Theatre, West End and New York) on 18 October, Rhashan Stone (Hollington Drive; Ghosts, Lyric Hammersmith) on 11 October, Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, HBO; The Tower, ITV) on 15 October, Olivia Williams (The Crown, Netflix; One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Old Vic Theatre) on 10 October and Ria Zmitrowicz (The Doctor, The Almeida; Ilford Boy, Donmar Warehouse) on 8 November.

An Oak Tree is part of Francesca Moody Productions’ new season at The Other Palace, bringing together three extraordinary shows that began life at the Fringe before captivating audiences around the world. In addition to An Oak Tree, the season will feature the award-winning razor-sharp dark comedy Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is Going to Happen, and the international smash-hit Garry Starr: Classic Penguins. Each production celebrates original voices and pushes the boundaries of what live theatre can be. Every performance in the season will have 20 tickets available at £20.

Having originated two of the most globally successful shows of the last decade: Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, Francesca Moody is one of the industry's most influential and award-winning producers, renowned for championing bold new voices and developing groundbreaking work that has gone on to achieve international acclaim.

This autumn, FMP also produces Hannah Reilly’s ferocious one-woman comedy-turned-psychological-thriller ROLEPLAY, co-produced with Global Creatures. Following a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run, it transfers to Soho Theatre from 22 October–21 November. The show follows a struggling feminist podcaster who reinvents herself as a provocative “slutfluencer” in pursuit of fame, exploring sex, power, feminism, online identity and the commodification of attention.

FMP at The Other Palace season:

An Oak Tree

7 October - 15 November 2026
Starring Tim Crouch and a different second actor at each performance

Since its world premiere in 2005, Tim Crouch's An Oak Tree has become one of the most influential and widely celebrated plays of the 21st century, performed hundreds of times in more than 19 countries while continually reinventing itself. A play that shaped the theatre landscape, its groundbreaking premise sees a different guest artist join Crouch for every performance, stepping on stage without ever having read or rehearsed the play. Over the past two decades, more than 350 performers have taken on this extraordinary theatrical challenge, creating a unique event every night and an audience experience like no other.

The remarkable roll call of guest artists who have previously performed the play includes Frances McDormand, Geoffrey Rush, Peter Dinklage, Mike Myers, David Tennant, Jessie Buckley, Russell Tovey, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, Sophie Okonedo, Sharon D Clarke, Alanis Morissette, Toby Jones, Christopher Eccleston, Meera Syal, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Adjoa Andoh, Eddie Marsan, Nina Sosanya, Alfred Enoch, Arthur Darvill, Alex Lawther, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Luke Thompson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Michelle Terry, among many others.

Constantly evolving while remaining unmistakably itself, An Oak Tree has become a landmark of contemporary theatre – an unforgettable exploration of grief, suggestion and the uniquely live experience of performance. Starring Tim Crouch and a different second actor at each performance

Garry Starr: Classic Penguins

22 October 2026 – 03 January 2027
Press Night: 23rd October

Internationally acclaimed, award-winning performer Garry Starr (created by Damien Warren-Smith) has become one of the most exhilarating and unpredictable forces in contemporary comedy, earning a devoted global following for his riotously physical, gloriously anarchic performances. In Classic Penguins, Garry Starr is hell-bent on saving books from extinction by performing every Penguin Classic novel ever written, mostly naked (but with flippers). The comic wunderkind takes audiences on a literary adventure through the world’s most iconic works of fiction – from The Little Prince to Moby Dick and everything in between, nothing is safe from being lampooned with the utmost nincompoopery.

Winning critical acclaim and playing to sold-out audiences across the UK, Australia, USA and beyond, Garry Starr continues to push the boundaries of theatrical comedy with his fearless blend of clowning, improvisation and spectacularly ill-advised ambition. Recently playing Off-Broadway at Studio Seaview – bringing his trademark brand of joyful chaos to the other side of the Atlantic.

Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen

19 November 2026 – 10 January 2027
Press Night: 26th November.

“I’m 36, I’m a comedian, and I’m about to kill my boyfriend…”

Since its premiere in 2022, Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen has established itself as one of the stand-out, critically acclaimed new solo shows of recent years. Written by Marcelo Dos Santos (Backstairs Billy), directed by Matthew Xia (The Harder They Come, Tambo & Bones, Darkling) and starring acclaimed stage and screen actor Steven Webb (The History Boys, The Book of Mormon, Shucked), the darkly funny, emotionally charged production premiered in Roundabout at Edinburgh Festival Fringe before transferring to London, earning multiple awards across the two runs.

Following sold-out runs and an Australian tour, the show has captivated audiences with its razor-sharp writing, psychological insight and compelling exploration of anxiety, intimacy and self-sabotage. Continuing its international success, the production has just completed a U.S. run at Studio Theatre, Washington (4 June – 12 July) introducing American audiences to the critically celebrated play.