The Olivier Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon has announced lead casting for its new UK tour in 2025 and 2026.
The Kinks will be played by Danny Horn as Ray Davies, Oliver Hoare as Dave Davies, Harry Curley as Peter Quaife and Zakarie Stokes as Mick Avory.
Further casting will be announced soon.
The Kinks frontman Ray Davies said in a statement: “I’m pleased that Danny and Oliver are rejoining Sunny Afternoon after their brilliant run in Chicago and look forward to Harry and Zakarie joining the band. Well done to everyone involved in making this wonderful Sunny Afternoon musical.”
The tour kicks off at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on 6 October 2025, and will visit three London venues – Wimbledon, Richmond and Alexandra Palace.
All the currently announced tour dates are: Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Sunderland, York, Woking, Wimbledon, Swansea, Brighton, London, Canterbury, Oxford, Nottingham, Leeds, Malvern, Torquay, Milton Keynes, Richmond, Stoke on Trent, Stockton, Leicester, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Inverness, Liverpool, and Cardiff. See all dates and venues here.
Sunny Afternoon tells the true story of Ray Davies and the rise of The Kinks to 1960s stardom, set against the backdrop of their legendary music.
The show won four Olivier Awards in 2015, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Davies. Featuring some of The Kinks’ greatest hits—including You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset, Lola, and Sunny Afternoon – the musical charts the band’s meteoric rise and the challenges they faced along the way.
Sunny Afternoon celebrates one of Britain’s most influential rock bands, The Kinks, and has music and lyrics by Ray Davies and a book by Joe Penhall.
Originally premiering at Hampstead Theatre in 2014, the show transferred to London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, where it ran for over two years before closing in October 2016. A UK & Ireland tour followed in 2016 and 2017, but a second tour in 2020 was postponed due to Covid.
The original West End production starred John Dagleish as Ray Davies, earning him an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Dagleish is currently starring in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, for which he has received another Best Actor in a Musical nomination.
The production is directed by Edward Hall and designed by Miriam Buether, with choreography by Adam Cooper. Lighting design is by Rick Fisher with sound design by Matt McKenzie. Musical and vocal adaptations are by Ray Davies and Elliott Ware based on original Kinks’ recordings.
The tour is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions.
Book tickets to Sunny Afternoon – UK Tour
More about the cast of Sunny Afternoon
Danny Horn returns to play ‘Ray Davies’ having starred in the role for over a year in the West End. He most recently reprised the role in the North American premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. His other theatre credits includeThe Bah Humbug Club at Lichfield Garrick, We’ll Dance On The Ash Of The Apocalypse at The Park Theatre, Reclaim The Night at the Arcola, The Dead Dogs at the Print Room and The Revenger’s Tragedy at Hoxton Hall. His TV and film credits include Riot Women, Doctors, World Cup Live ’66 Live at the Wembley Arena, Hetty Feather, and Doctor Who for the BBC, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society for Sky, Emmerdale and Vera for ITV.
Oliver Hoare returns to play ‘Dave Davies’ having starred in the part in the West End and most recently reprised the role in the North American premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. His other theatre credits include Anthony and Cleopatra at Chichester Festival Theatre, Dance to the Bone and A Christmas Carol at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe at the Birmingham Rep, Romeo and Juliet at the Tobacco Factory, The Beggar’s Operaat Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Sons Without Fathers at the Arcola and The Jungle Book at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. His TV and film credits include The Sixth Commandment, Casualty, World Cup ’66 live at the Wembley Arena for the BBC, Game Face for E4 and People Just Do Nothing for BBC Three. His music and composition credits includeSink, Wrong Turn 5 and Thanks for the Memories. Oliver has released three EPs with his band Oliver Hoare & The Late Great, performing at festivals around the UK including the BBC Introducing stages at Latitude and Henley Festival.
Harry Curley can currently be seen in Sing Street at the Lyric Hammersmith. His other credits include Cinderella at King’s Head, Oh! What a Lovely War at the Southwark Playhouse and UK Tour, Once at the Barn Theatre Cirencester, Summer in the City at the Gatehouse and Caligari at the New Diorama.
Zakarie Stokes makes his professional debut in Sunny Afternoon. Whilst training at the Guildford School of Acting his credits included Our Town, Alice by Heart and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
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