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Upstart Crow West End tickets, cast, plot, running time – all you need to know!

Upstart Crow in London's West End 2022 - current cast, best tickets and theatre

Upstart Crow has landed back in London’s West End for 2022 – here’s all you need to know.

From the current West End cast of Upstart Crow to the latest and best ticket offers, here’s everything about the show.

The hit BBC TV sitcom has been adapted for the stage by Ben Elton, who wrote the TV series, and will be directed by Olivier award-winner Sean Foley (The Ladykillers, Jeeves and Wooster and The Miser).

Upstart Crow West End theatre, booking and running time

The show is plays at the Apollo Theatre from 23 September to 3 December 2022.

The running time of Upstart Crow is 2 hours including one 20 minute interval.

Best and Cheapest London tickets

Tickets for Upstart Crow in the West End are now on public sale. Costs range from £15 to £127.50.

The standard performance schedule is Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm with Wednesday & Saturday matinees at 2:30pm.

Book Upstart Crow tickets here »

Upstart Crow West End cast 2022

David Mitchell will once more don the bald wig and bardish coddling pouch in his iconic characterisation of Will Shakespeare. Also bringing their TV characters to life on stage once more are Gemma Whelan (DI Ray, Game of Thrones, Gentleman Jack) as Kate, Helen Monks (Raised by Wolves / Inside No. 9) as Susanna and Rob Rouse (Grownups) as Bottom.

Reprising their stage roles are Jason Callender (Shadow and Bone, 4 O’Clock Club) as Arragon, Danielle Phillips (Masters of the Air, Evening Standard Future Award 2021) as Judith and Reice Weathers (Story of My Life, Ted Lasso) as Mr Whiskers.

New to the cast are Olivier Award-winner John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory’s Girl, Traces) as Dr John Hall, Gloria Onitiri (Grace Jones in Urban Myths, The Bodyguard, West End run) as Desiree, and Stewart Wright (Smack the Pony, Love and Marriage) as Burbage.

The cast is completed by Andrew Hodges, Dedun Omole and Annabel Smith.

A synopsis of the show reveals:

It is 1605 and England’s greatest playwright is in trouble. King James has been on the throne for two years and Will Shakespeare has produced just two plays, both of which being generally considered to resemble the large semi-flightless birds recently discovered pecking corn and going ‘gobble gobble’ in the New World. Measure for Measure was incomprehensible bollingbrokes by any measure and All’s Well That End’s Well didn’t even end well. Will must lift his game or risk his head. Those who work at the pleasure of the King live in constant fear of his favour. No one has forgotten what happened to Henry VIII’s marriage guidance councillor.

Will desperately needs to come up with a brilliant new plot but he is finding it impossible to focus on finding one. He’s too distracted by family troubles. He’s considering dividing all his lands and property between his jealous, squabbling daughters and, to add to the confusion, two shipwrecked, Moorish, cross-dressing, identical twins have just arrived, separately and unaware of each other, at his door. How the futtock can a Bard be expected to find a plot for a play with all that is going on in the house?

To make matters worse Will’s friend and housekeeper Kate, horrified at the exploitation of showbiz animals for entertainment, has recently ‘liberated’ the Globe Theatre’s prize dancing bear. Kate intends to keep the poor distressed animal in the scullery until she can reintroduce her into the wild, but Mrs Whiskers (who was born to dance) has other plans. You can take the dancing bear out of the theatre, but you can’t take the theatre out of the dancing bear.

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About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.