Sylvia musical to tour UK with Beverley Knight returning as Emmeline Pankhurst
The musical Sylvia, which tells the story of suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst through hip hop, funk and soul, will return to the stage this autumn on a limited UK tour — opening at Curve, Leicester, before a short residency at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Beverley Knight will reprise her Olivier Award-winning role as Emmeline Pankhurst, Sylvia's mother, for the tour. Naomi Katiyo takes on the title role of Sylvia, replacing Sharon Rose, who has withdrawn from the production. Returning from the show's 2023 world premiere run at the Old Vic are Kelly Agbowu, Claudia-Rose Carlier, Jaye Marshall, Kirstie Skivington and Ellena Vincent. WhatsOnStage
The tour begins at Curve Theatre, Leicester, running from 24 September to 3 October 2026. The production is produced in association with Curve Leicester. The London leg follows: five performances at the Royal Albert Hall from 13 to 15 November 2026, including what is billed as the UK's largest education matinee.
The Royal Albert Hall connection is more than a venue choice. The hall hosted over 20 suffragette rallies and historic speeches before suffragettes were banned from the building between 1913 and 1918.
Sylvia features music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, with a book and lyrics by Kate Prince, who also directs and choreographs. Prince is the founder of ZooNation, the theatre company behind stage hits including Into the Hoods and Some Like It Hip Hop. The book is co-written with Priya Parmar. A 14-track album, Sylvia — The Essentials, produced by Grammy award-winning Martin Terefe and released by ZooNation Records, is already available to stream.
The full creative team includes Ben Stones (set and costume), Natasha Chivers and Hector Murray (lighting), Tony Gayle (sound), Andrzej Goulding (video and animation), Cynthia De La Rosa (wigs, hair and make-up), Mark Dickman (orchestrations), Sean Green (music supervisor), Stuart Burt (casting) and Lolita Chakrabarti (dramaturgy).
The production is led by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and PW Productions, in association with Rupert Gavin and Mallory Factor, Curve Leicester and the Royal Albert Hall.
For audiences who missed Sylvia at the Old Vic in 2023, the tour offers a second chance — and for the thousands of schoolchildren expected at the Royal Albert Hall matinee, potentially a first encounter with the Pankhurst story told through a contemporary score.
