Cast Set For DEEP AZURE at Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe has announced the full cast and creative team of Deep Azure in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, running from 7 February - 11 April 2026. Deep Azure is written by late Academy Award-nominated actor and writer Chadwick Boseman and directed by award-winning theatre maker Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu (For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, New Diorama/Royal Court/Apollo) in his Globe directorial debut. 

The cast will comprise Ryn Alleyne as Ensemble/Cover, Maxwell Chartey as Ensemble/Cover, Elijah Cook as Tone, Jayden Elijah as Deep, Aminita Francis as SK Good, Selina Jones as Azure, Justice Ritchie as Roshad, and Imani Yahshua as SK Evil. 

Director Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu says: “I am incredibly excited for the brilliant team we have assembled to bring this production together - featuring a cast and crew of both Black British and Black American voices in a play that speaks to both continents in a variety of ways. We have all connected in our love for Chadwick's vision, his words and the theatrical elements of Hip-Hop & Shakespeare that brim within Deep Azure. I believe, with this cast, we have sampled the future of theatre and Hollywood talent in time to come."

Deep Azure’s Associate Director is Marley-Rose Liburd, Hanna Dimtsu is the Associate Movement Director, Candlelight Designer is Azusa Ono, with Conrad Murray and John Pfumojena as Co-Composers and Rehearsal Musical Directors, Paul Wills as Designer, Aundrea Fudge as Dialect, Somebody Jones as Dramaturg and Cultural Consultant, Sam Lyon-Behan as  Fight Director, Raniah Al-Sayed as Intimacy Director, Tanaka Bingwa as Movement Director, with Voice by John Pfumojena. 

Deep Azure was cast by Becky Paris CDG, Head of Casting at Shakespeare’s Globe. 

Cast Biographies

Ryn Alleyne is Ensemble/Cover. Ryn trained at LAMDA and The Identity School of Acting, London.   Ryn’s screen credits include: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (Warner Bros) and The Pentaverate (Netflix).  Theatre includes: The Leftbehinds (National Theatre) and Running Wild (The Open Air Theatre). 

Maxwell Chartey is Ensemble/Cover. Maxwell is a multidisciplinary artist whose work transcends boundaries of form and place. Maxwell trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where he was awarded a scholarship by acclaimed director Michael Grandage.  With a rich foundation in Contemporary, Hip Hop, and Physical Theatre, Maxwell’s movement vocabulary is deeply influenced by his musical upbringing and African heritage - elements he consistently honours throughout his creative practice. His work is a dynamic fusion of cultural storytelling and embodied performance, reflecting both his roots and his ever-evolving artistic journey.

Elijah Cook will play Tone. Elijah’s theatre credits include Against, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Leftovers, Julius Caesar, and The Brothers Size (LAMDA). Film credits include California Schemin' (Studio Canal); The Night House; Soulm8te (Universal); Venom 3 (Marvel). TV credits include Silo S3 (Apple TV); Halo S2 (Paramount+); The Diplomat (Netflix); The Franchise, Ballers (HBO); The Veil (FX); You (Netflix); 9-1-1 (Reamworks); The Big Bang Theory (CBS Studios); Twenties (BET); Future Man (Hulu).

Jayden Elijah will play Deep. Jayden studied at The Identity School of Acting, London. Television credits include leading regular in Disney+/Hulu series Saint X. Other TV includes Enterprice, Hank Zipzer (BBC), Rev (Big Talk Prods). Film includes The Last Tree, directed by Shola Amoo and Schools Out, directed by Oliver Milburn.

Aminita Francis will play SK Good. Theatre credits include: Family Tree (Actors Touring Company); Red Riding Hood (Liverpool Everyman); I Am Kevin and Babel (Wildworks); Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster (Battersea Art Centre); The Immersive Great Gatsby (Hartshorn-Hook Productions); Josephine (Theatre Royal Bath); Bugsy Malone (Lyric Hammersmith); Afroabelhas Brasil (British Council/Tempo Festival); Chocolate Cake (Polka Theatre); Hive City Legacy (The Roundhouse/Hot Brown Honey); Six Wives and The New Morning (Theatre Royal Stratford East); Bite Your Tongue (Hackney Showroom/Talawa); Blood Wedding, Romeo and Juliet, The Arsonists (The Courtyard Theatre/CTTC), Next Generation (Zoonation) and Cabin Fever (Theatre 503). Television credits include Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster (BBC).

Selina Jones will play Azure. Theatre credits include Provenance (All Points East) Under The Kunde Tree (Southwark Playhouse); An Unfinished Man (The Yard Theatre); Nine Night (LAMDA); A Raisin In The Sun (LAMDA); All’s Well That Ends Well (LAMDA); The Winter’s Tale (LAMDA); The Wolves (LAMDA). Television includes Kaos (Netflix/Sister Productions); Raised By Wolves (HBO Max/Scott Free/Film Afrika Worldwide).  Short Films include Rosewater (Rural Productions); Gesualdo (Raunkiaer Films); Alize’s Room; Vulgar Women: Interruption (InitiativeDKF); Scene House (Scene House LTD); MEDEA (Khameleon Productions); Nadia’s Gift (Brockley Jack Theatre/CONNECT). 

Justice Ritchie will play Roshad. Justice trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. This is Justice’s Shakespeare's Globe debut.  Theatre includes: Born With Teeth (RSC/Wyndham's Theatre), The Importance of Being Earnest (English Touring Theatre) and Human Nurture (Theatre Centre). Film includes: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures). Radio includes: What’s Love Got to Do With It?, The Train at Platform 4, Harland, Berlin Alexanderplatz, A Matter of Life and Death, File on 4: Detained and Restrained – Britain’s Vulnerable Kids, Broken Colours, Life Lines (BBC Radio 4), and Wunderkind (BBC Radio 3).