Gary Webster and Son Freddie Webster Join BLESSINGS at Riverside Studios

Casting has been announced for the world premiere of Blessings, a darkly funny and deeply moving new family drama by acclaimed playwright Sarah Shelton. The production will play Riverside Studios from 30 September to 26 October 2025.

Beloved screen and stage actor Gary Webster, best known for his leading roles in Minder, Family Affairs and numerous television shows over the past five decades, will play the role of Frank. He is joined by television and radio favourite Jane Slavin (Call the Midwife) as Dorie, Hannah Traylen (Boiling Point) as Frances, Milly Roberts as Penny and rising talents Freddie Webster and Freya Taylor-Lester as Martin and Sally.

Blessings marks Freddie Webster’s professional stage debut after graduating from Mountview, appearing opposite his father Gary in a casting choice that echoes the play’s exploration of family dynamics.

Gary Webster said: “As soon as I read the play Blessings by Sarah Shelton I knew that I wanted to do it. After I met Sarah I knew I HAD to do it. To work on a great script with such terrific actors is the reason why I became an actor. Throwing in the fact that I'll be working with my son Freddie on his professional theatrical debut makes this opportunity all the more exciting. I can't wait to get started.”

An emotionally charged observation of family dysfunction, Blessings made its acclaimed debut as a shortened piece at last year’s Riverside Bitesize Festival. Bold, brilliant and blisteringly honest, this must-see new work explores faith, family, control and the lies we tell to keep everything from falling apart. 

Behind the polished front door of the Deacon household, tradition is crumbling, secrets are festering, and change is coming - whether they like it or not. In a small English town in the 1960s, formidable matriarch Dorie Deacon is determined to keep her Catholic family respectable while Frank, her husband, maintains a silence that suggests he sees more than he’s ever let on. But as her children return home to celebrate their traditional family Easter, their carefully constructed image begins to crack. From smug eldest son Martin to razor-sharp Penny, rebellious Frances to watchful youngest daughter Sally, the Deacons are anything but united. And with a new boyfriend on the scene, a family priest who knows more than he’s saying, and plenty of unspoken truths lying under the surface, the household is a pressure cooker ready to blow. As secrets inch toward the surface and confessions are avoided, tension mounts toward a devastating and unforgettable climax. Is truth always the best policy? And what would you do for love?