February — April 2026

West End Premiere

God don’t want the Devil to have all the good music, right?

A Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre production, in association with Nica Burns. Directed by Monique Touko.
Associate Directed by Jordi M. Carter.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’, influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history.

Mississippi, 1946. Sister Rosetta has changed the face of gospel music with her exuberant, electric guitar-playing style. Shunned by straitlaced church folk for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she’s persuaded the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. But first she has to convert Marie’s pure Sunday sound into something that has just a little more swing…

Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn’t It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe.

Joining Beverley Knight is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu as Marie Knight. Her recent theatre credits include Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top (Royal Exchange Theatre).

Cast

Sister Rosetta Tharpe — Beverley Knight
Marie Knight — Ntombizodwa Ndovu
Understudy Sister Rosetta Tharpe — Carole Stennett
Understudy Marie Knight — Grace Kanyamibwa

Musicians

Musical Director & Guitarist — Shirley Tetteh
Double Bassist — Genevieve Namazzi
Pianist — Mia Odeleye
Drummer — Ishara Andrews

Creative Team

Writer — George Brant
Director — Monique Touko
Set Designer — Lily Arnold
Musical Supervisor, Arranger & Orchestrations — Liam Godwin
Costume Designer — Jodie-Simone Howe
Lighting Designer — Matt Haskins
Sound Designer — Tony Gayle
Wigs, Hair & Make-Up Designer — Keisha-Paris Banya
Movement Director — Kloé Dean
Associate Director — Jordi M. Carter
Associate Lighting Designer — Teresa Nagel
Casting Director — Jacob Sparrow
Intimacy Director — Bethan Clark
Voice & Dialect Coach — Joel Trill
Costume Supervisor — Fran Levin
Orchestral Management — Knoetics Management
Music Assistant / Copyist — Benedict Williams