BOYBAND AND X FACTOR WINNERS UNITE FOR LONDON PREMIERE OF POP ROCK MUSICAL WORLD’S GREATEST LOVER, DIRECT FROM NEW YORK DEBUT AND AWARD-WINNING EDINBURGH FRINGE RUN

Following its New York debut and an acclaimed, award-winning run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, the electrifying pop-rock musical World’s Greatest Lover transfers to London this spring. The production opens at The Other Palace on Sunday 12 April 2026, playing until Sunday 7 June 2026, with a national press night on Wednesday 22 April. 

Tickets go on sale today, 10 February, as the full London cast is announced, led by X Factor winners Matt Terry and Dalton Harris, alongside Union J star Jaymi Hensley and West End favourites Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Leonardo Vieira and Alex Hayden. 

A bold, high-energy pop-rock musical, World’s Greatest Lover features music and book by Julien Salvia with lyrics and book by Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal. The long-standing writing partnership has created award-winning and record-breaking shows seen around the world for over 15 years, including the Marius Award-winning The Prince & The Pauper and the Trophées de la Comédie Musical-nominated The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Their work extends beyond the stage to screenwriting on Living with Dad (M6), with their most recent songwriting credit being the Luxembourg’s 2025 Eurovision Song Finalist. 

The production is directed and choreographed by Broadway’s Joshua Bergasse, Emmy Award winner for his choreography on Smash and Tony and Astaire Award nominee for the 2014 Broadway revival of On The Town, with set design by Beowulf Boritt  (Act One, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), costume design by David Woolard (West Side Story, First Date) and lighting design by Jason Lyons (Bring It On: The Musical, Hand to God) Casting is by Rob Kelly (Hades Town ,This Bitter Earth), General Management by Thomas Hopkins Productions.  

World’s Greatest Lover brings together the most iconic romantics in history in a witty, irreverent and unexpectedly heartfelt exploration of love, desire and identity, asking what it truly means to be the greatest lover of all time. 

With explosive choreography and a sensational pop-powered score, Romeo, Casanova, Cyrano de Bergerac and the Marquis de Sade collide in a wildly entertaining, no-holds-barred battle to uncover the truth about love. 

Seductive, hilarious and surprisingly moving, World’s Greatest Lover is as heartfelt as it is outrageous.  

Prepare to be seduced… 

Matt Terry will star as ‘CDB’. An X Factor winner and chart-topping singer-songwriter, Matt has amassed more than 250 million artist streams and over one billion streams as a songwriter. His theatre credits include Rock of Ages, Madagascar and The Grinch, direct from Broadway. 

Dalton Harris will star as ‘Val’. Dalton is the winner of The X Factor and a chart-topping recording artist whose winning duet reached No.1 in the UK. A powerful vocalist and songwriter with millions of streams worldwide, his stage credits include the UK tour of The Drifters Girl, alongside film and documentary work exploring his life and activism. 

Jaymi Hensley will star as ‘Sade’: Best known as a member of boyband Union J, Jaymi rose to fame on The X Factor before signing to Sony Music and releasing two studio albums. On stage he starred as Joseph in the UK tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and has appeared widely across TV and radio, including co-hosting CBBC’s Got What It Takes. He has recently toured internationally performing to audiences around the world. 

Joaquin Pedro Valdes will star as ‘Romeo’. A London-based theatre performer and recording artist, Joaquin’s credits span the West End and international productions including The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Death Note in Concert, Heathers, The Baker’s Wife, Pacific Overtures and Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Musical. He was previously a member of Philippine boyband 17:28 before launching his solo recording career. 

Leonardo Vieira will star as ‘Caz’. Trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Leonardo’s credits include Bat Out of Hell (UK & Ireland Tour), Burn the Floor, Godspell in Concert and Aladdin. 

Alex Hayden completes the company as an off-stage Swing. Alex trained at ArtsEd and recently appeared in The Book of Mormon on its UK and International Tour. His credits also include Sweet Charity, RENT and the Olivier Awards 2024 concert. 

This London production brings the show’s infectious score, muscular choreography and razor-sharp wit to the capital.  

Direct from New York, produced by Broadway International Group, Marc Routh and Simone Genatt, WORLD’S GREATEST LOVER is a smart, funny and irresistible new show about romance, reputation, and what happens when the greatest lovers of all time discover they may not understand love at all. 

Marc Routh, President of Broadway Asia, is one of the most prolific producers on Broadway, with recent productions being Back To The Future, Winter Garden and The Roommate Starring Mia Farrow and Pattie LuPone, Booth Theatre. He is a seven-time Tony Award winner for Oklahoma!, Angels In America, The Band’s Visit, The Norman Conquests, Company, Hairspray, and The Producers. 

 Alongside his Broadway endeavours, Routh is the producer of off-Broadway’s Drama Desk and Obie Award-Winning Stomp and the legendary award-winning nightclub 54 Below. 

Simone Genatt, Chairperson and Co-Founder of Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia, has been responsible for shows in over 60 countries including recent productions of An American in Paris, Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Beetlejuice, COOKIN’ and The Sound of Music with Le Grand Theatre de Geneve, Theatre du Chatelet; Fuji TV; Shanghai Culture Square, Warner Bros Theatricals and Rodgers & Hammerstein among many others.  With a commitment to presenting live theatrical entertainment to cultures throughout the world, Simone Genatt remains focused on expanding the boundaries of entertainment and communication throughout the global markets. 

Broadway International Group is among the largest production, management, distribution, licensing and touring companies of live entertainment throughout the Asia Pacific region, and its founders, Simone Genatt and Marc Routh, are two of the most active commercial Broadway producers throughout the global markets. Over the last 30 years, theatrical productions by the Broadway International Group and Broadway Asia partners have garnered more than 50 global theatrical awards through its many collaborations. Select productions include many Tony and Olivier Award-winning musicals and other live action spectacular entertainment productions. 

Producers Marc Routh and Simone Genatt said, “World’s Greatest Lover is a wildly entertaining showdown among the hottest lovers of all time.  The premise is wonderfully absurd and witty punctuated by sizzling choreography by Joshua Bergasse with a powerful boyband pop score.  This new musical is seductive and electric and just might make you fall in love all over again.  We’re absolutely thrilled to be bringing World’s Greatest Lover to the Other Palace this Spring.”  

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