New Musical IN MARRAKECH Will Hold Development Workshop in London

Concord Theatricals has announced the cast for the workshop of In Marrakech, a new, original musical by Kate Marlais and Alex Young, directed by Josh Seymour. Rehearsals are taking place this week, followed by a sharing on Friday 2 October 2026 at Jerwood Space, London.

The company comprises Sharif Afifi as Bachir, Malek Alkoni as Rafiq, Edward Bennett as Mike, Niamh Cusack as Judith, Katherine Kingsley as Tina, Gregor Milne as Luke, Eleanor Nawal as Nadia and Kat Ronney as Jess.

Looking at how we shape our past, present and future, In Marrakech is a soaring new musical that follows the women of three generations of a British family who work through resentment and reconciliation while together in Marrakech.

When Jess, a celebrated young climate activist on the brink of collapse, is sent to her grandmother's riad in Marrakech, she finds herself among a cast of storytellers, dreamers and outsiders whose lives become unexpectedly entwined with her own.

As ancient Moroccan storytelling traditions collide with modern thinking, hidden truths emerge and old wounds heal. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Marrakech with a rich, contemporary score infused with Moroccan sounds, In Marrakech is a moving and uplifting exploration of connection, hope and the power of finding your own voice.

Sean Patrick Flahaven, Chief Theatricals Executive of Concord Theatricals and BMG said today, “After seeing a 15-minute excerpt of In Marrakech at the BEAM festival pre-pandemic, I was keen to see and hear more. After much more writing and development, we're very excited to continue our work with Kate and Alex to discover what this moving, generational story and captivating score can become.”

Joining the cast are musicians Samir Nacer on percussion and Nick Fitch on guitar, with backing vocals by Oliver Cave, Olivia Bloom, Charlotte Rose Dixon, Nic Myers and Noah Van Renswoude.

The creative team also includes Musical Director Yshani Perinpanayagam, Sound Designer Hattie North, Stage Manager Robert Perkins and Dramaturg Saeida Rouass.

Biographies

Kate Marlais is a multi-award-winning composer, writer, musical director, sound designer and performer. She has built an acclaimed career across theatre, television and dance, working for venues and organisations such as BBC, National Theatre, Rambert, DV8, Frantic Assembly, MIF, Lyric Belfast, Lyric Hammersmith, Manchester Royal Exchange, Young Vic, Serpentine Galleries, Gate Dublin and Irish Arts Center New York.

Kate was the Cameron Mackintosh Composer-in-Residence at Lyric Hammersmith in 2018/19. She is currently composer, musical director and sound designer for Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad at York Theatre Royal.

Alex Young is a highly accomplished stage and screen performer appearing at The National Theatre, Sheffield Crucible, Chichester Festival Theatre, ENO, Southwark Playhouse, Theatre Royal Bath and the London Palladium. Her credits include Fun Home; Operation Mincemeat; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; Follies; Into the Woods; Standing at the Sky's Edge; Guys and Dolls; Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Josh Seymour is a theatre director based in London, working on new and existing plays and musicals. He trained as Resident Assistant Director at The Donmar Warehouse and was Runner-Up for the 2018 RTST Peter Hall Award. In 2016, he won Best Director at the Off-West End Awards for One Arm at Southwark Playhouse. His 2025 production of A Streetcar Named Desire at Sheffield Crucible was nominated for Best Play Revival at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards. Other credits as a director include Here Comes J. Edgar!; We Had a World; Ragdoll; Spend Spend Spend; That Face; The Narcissist; Suddenly Last Summer; Musik and Adding Machine.

Josh has worked as Associate/Assistant Director for Dominic Cooke, Michael Grandage, Lyndsey Turner, Josie Rourke, Peter Gill, Matthew Warchus, Moisés Kaufman, Robert Hastie and Alexander Zeldin. Josh also works as an acting teacher and audition coach and has extensive experience directing at drama schools including LAMDA, Mountview and Arts Educational.

Sharif Afifi plays Bachir. Theatre includes: 'Azolan' in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (National Theatre); 'Colonel Said' in Murder on the Orient Express (Asia Tour); 'Leopold Sulerzh' in Grace Pervades (Theatre Royal Bath); Paradise Lost (Lost Dog/Battersea Arts Centre); 'Haled' in The Band's Visit (Donmar Warehouse, Olivier Award nomination); 'Freddy Eynsford-Hill' in My Fair Lady (London Coliseum); Hadestown (National Theatre); 'Karim' in We Live in Cairo (American Repertory Theater); The Magician's Elephant (Royal Shakespeare Company) and 'Osman' in You Bury Me. Television includes: The Good Ship Murder; The Bombing of Pan Am 103; and House of David. Film includes: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Malek Alkoni plays Rafiq. He is a British-Libyan actor, born in Spain to Libyan parents and raised in Morocco. His screen credits include Last King of the Cross (Paramount+/Amazon Prime); Inside Man (Netflix/BBC); Vigil S2 (BBC/Peacock); G'wed (ITVX); The Crow Girl (Paramount); The Teacher (Channel 5) and Hijacked: Flight 73 (Sky). He made his professional theatre debut playing 'Jack' in Jack and the Beanstalk at Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. Malek is also a multi-instrumentalist musician.

Edward Bennett plays Mike. Theatre includes: 'Thomas Cromwell' in A Man For All Seasons (Theatre Royal Bath/West End); 'Jerry' in Betrayal; 'Macduff' in Macbeth (Royal Shakespeare Company); 'Berowne' in Love's Labour's Lost; 'Benedick' in Much Ado About Nothing; 'Francis Crick' in Photograph 51; 'Stanley Stubbers' in One Man, Two Guvnors and acclaimed performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Hamlet. Television includes: Bridgerton; Lockerbie: A Search for Truth; SAS: Rogue Heroes; Joan; Franklin; Cobra; Victoria; Poldark; Silent Witness; Industry and Father Brown. Film includes: The Fantastic Four: First Steps; Napoleon; Benediction; The Laureate; War Horse; Skyfall and 55 Steps.

Niamh Cusack plays Judith. She is a well-known and much-loved stage and screen actress. She can now be seen in Chris Lang's I, Jack Wright (BBC), the second season of the Channel 4 series Big Mood as well as the Channel 4 series Falling. Most recent film work includes: We Live in Time directed by John Crowley (StudioCanal / Sunnymarch), Midwinter Break (Film4), In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Four Mothers, and Unwelcome directed by Jon Wright. In theatre most recently: Vincent in Brixton at the Orange Tree Theatre; Josh Seymour's That Face at the Orange Tree Theatre; as 'Gertrude' in Hamlet; Brian Friel's Faith Healer; playing 'Lenu' in My Brilliant Friend at The National Theatre Olivier; and 'Lady Macbeth' at the Barbican in Macbeth. In television: The Tower (ITV) playing 'Claire Mills', Shane Meadows' The Virtues (Channel 4), Rebellion (RTE/Netflix), The Best of Men (BBC), and The Hollow Crown (BBC).

Katherine Kingsley plays Tina. Theatre includes: The Witches and Top Girls (National Theatre); Present Laughter; The Rehearsal (Chichester Festival Theatre); She Loves Me; Aspects of Love (Menier Chocolate Factory); Piaf (Olivier Awards nominee); Welcome Home, Captain Fox; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Donmar Warehouse); Singin' in the Rain (Olivier Awards nominee); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Olivier Awards nominee) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Manchester Theatre Awards winner, WhatsOnStage Awards nominee). Television includes: War; Bookish S2; AmandaLand; The Larkins; Unforgotten; Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar; Black Mirror; Endeavour and The Alienist. Film includes: Matilda the Musical; Genius and Weekend.

Gregor Milne plays Luke. Theatre includes: Midnight at the Never Get (Menier Chocolate Factory); Teeth 'n' Smiles (Duke of York's Theatre); Fiddler on the Roof (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Barbican and UK Tour); Sunset Boulevard (Savoy Theatre) and Girl from the North Country (UK and Ireland Tour). Television includes: Shetland (BBC). Film includes: Tellurian.

Eleanor Nawal plays Nadia. Theatre includes: Argos Archives (Futures Theatre/Omnibus Theatre/Northern Stage/Eastern Angles); You Bury Me (Paines Plough/Bristol Old Vic); Polly: The Heartbreak Opera (Sharp Teeth Theatre UK Tour); Sherlock in Homes and Sherlock in Homes 2 (Bristol Old Vic/Wardrobe Theatre); and Underwater Love (Futures Theatre). Television includes: Alice & Steve (Clerkenwell/Disney+); The Jetty (BBC); Spent (BBC); The Reckoning (BBC); The Full Monty (Disney+); Marlow Murder Club (Monumental/UKTV); Such Brave Girls (A24/BBC); Somewhere Boy (Channel 4); A Whole Lifetime (BBC/Netflix); Pls Like (BBC); The Alienist (Paramount); Bridgerton (Netflix) and Urban Myths (Sky). Film includes: Urchin (Dream Space/BBC Film) and The Knock.

As a writer, Eleanor was a finalist for the inaugural Screenshot Award for comedy writer performers. Her play in development, True Story, was in the top ten for the ATG/Platform Presents Playwright's Prize and has received Arts Council funding for continued development.

Kat Ronney plays Jess. Theatre includes: 'Rose' in Titanique (Criterion Theatre); 'Rose' in Hex (National Theatre) and 'Laertes' in Hamlet (National Theatre). Television includes: Reputation (BBC); Karen Pirie (ITV); Dinosaur (BBC Three/Hulu); Casualty (BBC); The Royal Mob (Sky); Rebel Cheer Squad (Netflix) and McDonald & Dodds (ITV). Film includes: Finding Emily and Muse.