Full cast announced for new musical Franz & Marie

Casting has been announced for Franz & Marie, an audacious new musical reimagining of the Woyzeck myth, opening at the Charing Cross Theatre on 28 September 2026 and running until 14 November.

Brenock O’Connor (Game of Thrones, Alex Rider) leads as Woyzeck, opposite Jade Oswald (Old Friends, Little Women) as Marie, at the head of a 14-strong actor-muso company. Inspired by Georg Büchner’s classic Woyzeck, this new version gives the story a feminist twist, placing Marie alongside Franz at the heart of the narrative for the first time.

Set in the twisted, war-torn world of late 19th-century Europe, the musical follows a platoon of young soldiers stationed at an isolated outpost, awaiting further orders. Haunted by nightmares since his return from the front, Franz Woyzeck agrees to undergo medical experimentation from the army doctor to supplement his meagre income and support Marie and their baby, with devastating consequences.

They are joined by Steve Simmonds as Sergeant Ursid, Paula James as Zella, Richard Emerson Gould as Doctor Simian, Matthew Heywood as Drum Major Varg, Max Alexander-Taylor as André Schmitt, Mark Meadows as Captain Peccary, Eve Polycarpou as Vashti and Elaine Hua Jones as Kat. The ensemble is completed by Antony Lam, Anna-Marie Piazza and Emily Panes, alongside Tom Aubrey, making his professional stage debut.

The show’s raw, indie-folk score was created by Chris Broderick and Rob Shepherd, key members of cult Medway band The Singing Loins, and was originally commissioned by award-winning Korean musical theatre company Acom, staging their adaptation of Woyzeck at Seoul’s LG Arts Center in 2014. It has now been newly adapted by Teresa Howard as Franz & Marie for this London production, with additional music, arrangements and orchestrations by Steven Edis. The production is directed by Michael Oakley, with choreography by Ben Wright.