World Premiere of MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG Will Come to the Watermill Theatre

Watermill Theatre has announced a brand new show for autumn 2026 with the world premiere stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles' bestselling mystery novel Murder Before Evensong, playing from Friday 25 September – Saturday 14 November, with a national press night on Tuesday 29 September.

Based on the novel by Reverend Richard Coles, 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.

Full casting and creative team will be announced in due course.

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.

Paul Hart said “I've been a huge admirer of Richard's Canon Clement series for a long time and the opportunity to bring this world to the stage for the first time is thrilling.  The sense of community and village life is at the centre of the book, and I think this will work so well at the Watermill. And to work with Shaun McKenna on adapting this for the stage has been a dream – we last worked together on The Lord of the Rings so he can do anything!”

Richard Coles said “I'm delighted that the Watermill is going a-murdering before Evensong and can't wait to see how this brilliant adaptation will look.”

Richard Coles will be in conversation at the Watermill during the run of Murder Before Evensong in An Audience with Richard Coles on Friday 16 October 2026 at 2.30pm. This is an opportunity to hear about his inspiration for his bestselling novel Murder Before Evensong, how he captures the essence of quintessential English village life in his fiction, and how he leads his hero Daniel Clement to capture a killer.