Marie & Rosetta

★★★★ ‘An absolute stonker of a show’ Daily Express

★★★★ ‘Raises the roof’ Daily Mail

★★★★ ‘Bursts with defiance, mischief and joy’ The Stage

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 RoofThe Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top (Royal Exchange Theatre).

Performance Dates

Saturday 28 February, 2026 – Saturday 11 April, 2026

Tickets From

£30

Running Time

Approx 2 hrs including one interval

Age Guidance

12+

Content Warning

Please note: This production contains infrequent discriminatory language reflective of the period, and themes of racism, domestic abuse and bereavement.

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.

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

★★★★

‘Electrifying. Deftly balances humour, heart, and history. Beverley Knight displays razor-sharp comedic timing. Ntombizodwa Ndlovu stuns with sublime vocals’

WhatsOnStage
★★★★

‘Beverley Knight’s incandescent vocals’

The Times
★★★★

‘A duet made in heaven. Their terrific talents raise the roof’

Daily Mail
★★★★

‘Has soul, spirit and swing’

Daily Mirror
★★★★

‘An absolute stonker of a show. Don’t hesitate.’

Daily Express

Access performances at Nimax Theatres are now available to purchase online. You can purchase up to two tickets online for the below performances. 

Upcoming Performances:

Access Seating:

For all performances, you can select up to two seats at our discounted access rate of 50% off per person. These include:

  • Wheelchair park and companion seats
  • End-of-aisle seating
  • Central row seating

If you’ll remain in your wheelchair choose wheelchair spaces. For all other access requriements including transferring, choose access tickets.



To make a wheelchair transfer booking, purchase more than two tickets or to discuss your seating requirements further, please contact our Access team on 0330 333 4815 or [email protected].

Groups Rate (10+ Tickets)

Rate: £49.50 on bands A & B tickets
Valid For: Monday to Wednesday evenings and Thursday matinee performances

@sohoplace

4 Soho Place, Charing Cross Rd, London, W1D 3BG

@sohoplace

4 Soho Place, Charing Cross Rd, London, W1D 3BG

Performance Dates

Saturday 28 February, 2026 – Saturday 11 April, 2026

Tickets From

£30

Running Time

Approx 2 hrs including one interval

Age Guidance

12+

Content Warning

Please note: This production contains infrequent discriminatory language reflective of the period, and themes of racism, domestic abuse and bereavement.