Casting announced for Mischief’s first musical Thespians

The award-winning team behind the global phenomenon The Play That Goes Wrong has revealed the full cast for their highly anticipated world premiere musical, Thespians: Greece The Musical (But Not That One).

The musical is set to embark on a UK tour this summer, beginning at the Mercury Theatre Colchester on 9 May 2026.

Written by Mischief Theatre’s Jonathan Sayer (Peter Pan Goes Wrong) and Ed Zanders (Mischief Movie Night), Thespians is directed by Robyn Grant, and billed as an uplifting, hilarious, and timely reminder of the power of empathy and stepping into someone else’s sandals!

The show is set in 534 BC, as Greece’s smallest island is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant – where the loser is put to death!

All is going dreadfully until Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world’s first play and the origins of theatre as we know it!

The cast

The cast of Thespians features a number of West End performers, led by James Spence as Thespis and Claire-Marie Hall as Poly. The full company includes:

James Spence (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch) as Thespis
Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat) as Poly
Matt Cavendish (The Comedy About Spies) as Bard
Allie Dart (The Comedy About Spies) as Rhapsodes/Dance Captain
Luke Latchman (Now That’s What I Call A Musical) as Atlas
Marc Pickering (The Play What I Wrote) as Adonis
Mia Jerome (The Manningtree Witches) as Melampus
Rhys Taylor (Millennials) as The Tyrant

The company is completed by ensemble members Ashley Tucker (Christmas Carol Goes Wrong), Curtis Patrick (Young Frankenstein) and Josh Patel-Foster (Oliver!).

Ancient Greece meets Mischief chaos

Written by Mischief’s own Jonathan Sayer and composer Ed Zanders, with direction by Robyn Grant (Unfortunate), the story transports audiences to 534 BC. On Greece’s smallest island, a group of bards is desperately trying to win a prayer competition set by a thin-skinned tyrant. The stakes? The loser is put to death.

Just as all seems lost, Thespis accidentally invents acting – changing the course of history and giving birth to theatre as we know it.