Click here to read the full article.
Olivier winner George Maguire will play Captain Jack Sparrow in “Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure,” the London stage production from Secret Cinema and TodayTix.
Phil Daniels, known for “Quadrophenia,”
“EastEnders” and Blur’s “Parklife,” will play Captain Barbossa. Lily Blunsom is Elizabeth Swann, Harrison Wilde is Will Turner and Gleanne Purcell-Brown is Anamaria. The rest of the cast will be named later. Matt Costain, also an Olivier winner, directs.
Previews begin Feb. 16, and the show opens on March 10 at Secret Cinema’s new riverside venue on the Greenwich Peninsula. The production is the first at the site, which the company plans to keep as its home. Strong demand has led the producers to add six weeks to the run.
No earlier stage version of the franchise has been fully immersive, and the show marks a change of approach for Secret Cinema. Live storytelling leads the show. Instead of screening the whole of “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the production uses selected clips from the film alongside large set pieces. Over two hours, audiences can roam the sets, meet characters and take part in the story, with stunts and a live band.
The creative team includes two-time Emmy winner Jason Sherwood as production designer. His credits include live broadcasts of the Oscars and “Rent Live.” Kait Kerrigan, who wrote the book for Broadway’s “The Great Gatsby,” is the theatrical adaptor. Olivier winner Alan Williams handles music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations. Stuart Burt is casting director, Susan Kulkarni designs costumes, Helen Keane of Campbell Young Associates designs wigs, hair and makeup, and Alex Payne is fight director.
“We’ve taken everything Secret Cinema does best and pushed it further than ever before, creating a new kind of theatrical experience where the story doesn’t just happen in front of you – it happens all around you,” said Merritt Baer, Secret Cinema’s artistic director and producer and president and co-founder of TodayTix Group. “This is exactly the kind of show we’ve been building towards and opening it in our new home at Greenwich Peninsula makes it even more exciting.”
Maguire won his Olivier for playing Dave Davies in the musical “Sunny Afternoon.” His screen credits include “EastEnders,” “Prime Suspect” and “Borgia.” Daniels’ other film work includes “Chicken Run” and “Scum,” and he appears with Olivia Colman in “Wicker,” due out in 2026.
The production is licensed through Disney Theatrical Group. Angelo Desimini, the group’s senior VP of licensed partnerships and brand management, said Disney was excited by the chance to bring the franchise’s spirit to life through theatrical talent and immersive storytelling. “Secret Cinema has assembled a remarkable team to create an experience that is both artistically ambitious and wonderfully entertaining,” Desimini said. “It’s a chance for audiences to experience the world of Tortuga in an entirely new way.”
TodayTix bought Secret Cinema in 2022. Baer took charge of the company in 2024, and since then it has staged “Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical,” its most popular production in 19 years. Its more than 70 shows also include “Stranger Things,” “Guardians of the Galaxy: The Live Experience” and “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.”
