Cast Set for LGBTQIA+ Musical MAY DAY at King's Head Theatre

Olivier Award nominee Jo Foster (Into The Woods, The Bridge Theatre, Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre) will lead the cast of new LGBTQIA+ musical May Day in a workshop performance at King's Head Theatre this June. Performances will run 17 – 21 June.

Inspired by protests surrounding gender inclusion at Hampstead Heath Ladies Ponds, May Day follows a water sprite spat out into an angry world they don't understand, with no knowledge of the surface world and the rules of gender which dictate our society.

Alongside Jo Foster as water sprite Rae, casting includes Tylan Grant known for the role of Phoenix Hathaway on Channel 4's Hollyoaks as Rae's love interest Billy. The cast is completed by Gracie McGonigal (Bridgerton, Netflix, Into The Woods, The Bridge Theatre), Joni Ayton-Kent (If/Then, Savoy Theatre, Carousel, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre) and Dillon Scott-Lewis (People, Places and Things, National Theatre, & Juliet, Shaftesbury Theatre). 

Presented as part of King's Head Theatre's LATER programme, this workshop production is led by an LGBTQIA+ cast and creative team after evolving from a sell-out work-in-progress run in 2025, under the title Like a Rat. May Day was conceived and directed by Millie Foy and Molly Stacey with book by non-binary writing duo Pound Puppy, Barney Doran and Anna Fenton-Garvey (10 Things to Tell Yourself in the Line to Gay Club, Almeida Theatre) and music and lyrics by Sam Woof (Artistic Director, GOYA Theatre Company, Four Felons and a Funeral, touring 2023 - 2024).

At dawn on May Day, Rae, a water sprite turned human, arrives in a world they do not understand. With 24 hours to bring safety to the Heath, they must extinguish an ancient fire threatening both land and water. As protests grow and tensions rise, Rae's task is complicated when they fall in love with Billy, whose desire to see everything burn challenges their mission. With time running out, Rae must decide which fires to put out and which to let burn.

Co-Director Millie Foy said, “May Day takes the very real location of the Hampstead Heath ponds and uses it to tell a completely fantastical story about a genderless water sprite, navigating the rules of our world and getting into trouble. The hope is to explore what we have in common - a desire to feel good, to rest, to feel protected from violence - as a way of unpacking the intergenerational conflict between feminists about who was allowed in single-sex spaces. May Day is our way of thinking through the policing of safe spaces and how that intersects specifically with gender. The show uses myth and magical realism to question how sanctuary is contingent on exclusivity - when that works and why it sometimes doesn't. Hopefully we do that with a lot of compassion and with our empathy extended in all directions.”

Co-Director Molly Stacey said, “It's a particular joy to be once again working with Jo Foster, originating the role of Rae. Jo was such a force of imagination in our first ever workshop, and the heart and humour they bring to every role never fails to blow us away. We are so lucky to have Jo, Tylan, Gracie, Joni and Dillon bring May Day to the stage for the very first time. May Day is lucky enough to be stacked with trans talent across a majority trans cast and creative team. From the music department to the performers onstage to the backstage team crunching numbers and getting bums on seats: all corners of this show have benefited from the expansive, inventive and radical creative mindsets of trans people. Millie and I are thrilled to become the latest recruits in a long history of queer women indebted to the trans community.” 

TO Entertainment Producer Lilli Lehmann said, “In light of last year's Supreme Court rulings around gender recognition, this story feels especially urgent and is close to our hearts. The production began with interviews with swimming groups, especially those who identify as queer and trans, which led to a first devised staging. The stories shared with us were deeply moving and became the foundation of the music, developed with composer and lyricist Sam Woof. We then fell in love with the pitch by non-binary writing duo Pound Puppy. Throughout the creative process we continue to return to a message we believe strongly; places like the ponds are important sanctuaries, and it is vital to keep them inclusive and welcoming. We are beyond excited to be presenting this workshop production of May Day and believe that audiences will become part of the next chapter of this queer and camp musical with a fantastical twist.”

Molly Stacey is a new writing and comedy director. She is a 2025 Finalist of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Award, a 2025 National Theatre staff director, and a member of the Royal Court's 2026 Director's Pool. She has worked as an Associate Director across the West End, including: The Weir (with Conor McPherson), People, Places & Things (with Jeremy Herrin) and Why Am I So Single? (with Lucy Moss).