★★★★ ‘An absolute stonker of a show’ Daily Express
★★★★ ‘Raises the roof’ Daily Mail
★★★★ ‘Bursts with defiance, mischief and joy’ The Stage
About The Show
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).
Please note: This production contains infrequent discriminatory language reflective of the period, and themes of racism, domestic abuse and bereavement.
Show Dates
28th February 2026 - 11th April 2026Duration
Approximately 2 hours including an intervalAge Recommendation
12+Ticket Info
Monday – Saturday, 7.30pm
Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm@sohoplace has contactless ticketing for every performance. Tickets will be issued electronically 48 hours prior to the performance.
Fair access: 50% off across all bands
Group Tickets
Group Booking Enquiries
Call us on 0330 333 5963 or email us at groups@sohoplace.orgGroups 10+
£49.50 on bands A & B, valid on Monday to Wednesday evenings and Thursday matinee performances.Education Rate 10+
£25 on bands B & C plus 1 teacher goes free with every 10 tickets. Valid on Monday to Wednesday and Thursday matinee performances.
Reviews
★★★★‘Raises the roof.’
Daily Mail
★★★★‘Bursts with defiance, mischief and joy.’
The Stage
★★★★‘Incandescent vocals from Beverley Knight. Marie is winningly played by Ntombizodwa Ndlovu.’
The Times
★★★★‘An absolute stonker of a show. George Brant’s play allows Knight and Ndlovu the freedom to strut their incredible voices.’
Daily Express
Cast
Beverley Knight
Rosetta Tharpe
Queen of British Soul Beverley Knight has been one of the UK’s most consistently outstanding artists for over 3 decades. She can truly do it all; an Olivier award-winning star of the West End stage, astounding singer with a prolific music career and much-loved TV & broadcast talent, she finds herself recently 50 and bigger than ever.
Beverley was awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to British music and charity, has won an Olivier Award (and twice nominated for Best Actress), won three MOBO Awards, been nominated for Best Female at the Brit Awards 3 times and Best Album at the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Last year she also won the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity Award at the European Diversity Awards and was honoured at the Ethnicity Awards for her continued efforts in the field.
Her outstanding live performances have gained her a legion of famous fans, she has collaborated on stage and on record with the likes of Prince, Jamiroquai, Bocelli, Take That, Tom Jones, Chaka Khan & Marvin Gaye. Her most recent ‘50’ headline tour last year marked the release of her ninth studio album and was her biggest ever tour of the UK, including a sold out Royal Albert Hall.
In recent years, Wolverhampton born Knight has forged a formidable parallel career in theatre. Her West End debut was the starring role in The Bodyguard followed by leading the Tony winning Memphis The Musical. At the request of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber she joined the cast of Cats, playing the iconic role of Grizabella. 2021 saw Beverley lead The Drifters Girl (Olivier nominated Best New Musical) as the formidable manager of soul group The Drifters. Her role as Emmeline Pankhurst in the Old Vic’s production of Sylvia in 2023, garnered her both huge acclaim and her first Olivier Award win. Showing her versatility and comedic skill, Beverley starred as Deloris Van Cartier opposite Jennifer Saunders in the revival of Sister Act in Hammersmith Apollo’s highest grossing show ever in the venue, returning to the role opposite Ruth Jones at the Dominion last summer.
Her broadcasting work includes presenting 5 series of her own radio 2 show ‘Beverley’s Gospel Nights’, a panel judge in ITV’s talent series Starstruck and two series of the BBC1 show Just the Two of Us. She also appeared in the all-star cast of Amazon’s new live action movie Cinderella (2021) with Camilla Cabello in the title role.
A true British treasure, Beverley is a Patron for Terrence Higgins Trust, an ambassador for Plan UK, a founding member of The Circle plus long-time supporter of many charities.
Ntombizodwa Ndlovu
Marie Knight
Ntombizodwa Ndlovu graduated from the Manchester School of Theatre in 2021. In her third year she was a recipient of the Open Door Elevate Programme Award.
Ntombizodwa recently played Marie in Marie & Rosetta at Rose Theatre, Wolverhampton Grand & Chichester Festival Theatre for which she has been nominated for a UK Theatre Award for her performance.
Theatre credits include: Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, The Mountaintop (Royal Exchange Theatre); Blithe Spirit (Hope Mill Theatre); and A Time For Giving (Manchester International Festival).
Television & Radio Credits include: Banana; and You, Me & Her.
Creative Team
George Brant
Writer
Monique Touko
Director
Lily Arnold
Set Design
Jodie-Simone Howe
Costume Design
Kloé Dean
Movement Director
Tony Gayle
Sound Designer
Bethan Clark
Intimacy Director
Joel Trill
Voice & Dialect Coach
Jordi M. Carter
Associate Director
Shirley Teteh
Musical Director and Guitar
Accessible Performances & Tickets
Access Enquiries
To book accessible seating for all of our performances, including wheelchair park seats please click here.
Call us on 0330 333 5962 or email us at access@sohoplace.org.
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Design by Bob King Creative, Artwork Photography by Seamus Ryan.
Photography and recording of any kind is strictly prohibited.
The producers cannot guarantee the appearance of any particular artist at any performance, as this is subject to a variety of factors including illness, injury, or events beyond the producers’ control. No refunds or exchanges will be offered as a result of an artist’s unavailability to perform at any performance.