CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE STAGE ADAPTATION OF MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG

A WATERMILL THEATRE PRODUCTION  

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED 

FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE STAGE ADAPTATION OF  MURDER BEFORE EVENSONG  

PLUS TWO NEW DATES ADDED DUE TO EXTRAORDINARY DEMAND

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY REVEREND RICHARD COLES

ADAPTED BY PAUL HART AND SHAUN MCKENNA

STARRING IAN HALLARD AS CANON DANIEL CLEMENT

FRIDAY 25 SEPTEMBER – SATURDAY 14 NOVEMBER

BOOK ONLINE AT WATERMILL.ORG.UK OR VIA THE BOX OFFICE ON 01635 46044

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Joint CEOs, Artistic Director Paul Hart and Executive Director Claire Murray, and the whole team at Newbury’s award-winning Watermill Theatre are delighted to announce the cast and creative team of the world premiere stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling mystery novel Murder Before Evensong, playing from Friday 25 September – Saturday 14 November including two newly added performances due to extraordinary demand on both Monday 26 October and Monday 2 November, with a national press night on Tuesday 29 September.

The cast for Murder Before Evensong will feature Ian Hallard (The Way Old Friends Do at the Criterion Theatre, The Boys in the Band at the Vaudeville Theatre, Great Britain at the National Theatre) in the role of Canon Daniel Clement; Ajani Cabey (Hamnet at the RSC, West End and US Tour) will play Alex de Floures and Harvey Porteous; Caroline Gruber (Glorious UK Tour, Witness For The Prosecution at London County Hall, As Long As We Are Breathing at Arcola Theatre) as Audrey Clement and Kath Sharman; playing Bernard de Floures, Ned Thwaite and Edgy Liversedge will be David Hounslow (And Then Come The Nightjars at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmonds, Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, All My Sons at Queen Theatre Hornchurch/Wolsey Ipswich); Kate Russell-Smith (Fawlty Towers in the West End, Holes at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, Camp Albion at the Watermill Theatre) will play Honoria de Floures, Dora Sharman and Anne Dollinger. 

Jaz Singh Deol (The Psychic at York Theatre Royal, The Unbelievers at Royal Court, Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith) will play D.S. Neil Vanloo and Anthony Bowness; Julie Teal (The Chalk Garden at Theatre Royal Windsor, Bridgerton for Secret Cinema, The Vortex at British Playhouse Theatre, Singapore) will be playing Stella Harper and Margaret Porteous; Alex Wilson (Lark Rise to Candleford at Watermill Theatre and Theatre By the Lake, Secret Life of Humans at English Theatre, Frankfurt, A Merchant of Venice with Shakespeare In Italy) will play both Theo Clement and Nathan Liversedge.

Based on the novel by Reverend Richard Coles, Murder Before Evensong has been adapted for stage by Paul Hart and Shaun McKenna – who were behind the multi-award winning 2023 production of The Lord of the Rings. 

Sometimes we must adapt or die...

In 1988, the postcard-perfect village of Champton is centred around St Mary’s Church, where traditions, rituals and long-held relationships shape everyday life. The parish is a tightly-knit community, full of familiar faces and quietly simmering rivalries. 

 At its heart are Canon Daniel Clement, his formidable and ever-watchful mother Audrey, and his actor brother Theo.  

When a shocking murder shatters Champton’s quiet routines, the calm surface of village life begins to crack as suspicion spreads and long-buried secrets rise to the surface.

With the police searching for answers and fear rippling through the parish, Daniel finds himself drawn into a dangerous investigation. As he begins to piece together clues, motives and hidden histories, a darker truth about the village slowly comes to light.

Set against the rhythms of church life, Murder Before Evensong is a gripping new stage adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling mystery. As the bodies mount and the past refuses to stay buried, Daniel must hold his fractured community together… and uncover the killer in their midst. 

Don’t miss this thrilling world premiere – where every pew holds a secret, and anyone could be guilty of murder.

The full creative team comprises director Paul Hart, set & costume designer Ceci Calf, lighting designer Charly Dunford, sound designer Steven Atkinson, video designer Rachel Sampley, intimacy director Foxy, dialect coach Elspeth Morrison and associate director Lilac Yosiphon. Casting is by Cydney Beech.

Paul Hart said “It takes a village to create… a village. And the Watermill is surely the most perfect theatre in the country to bring Richard’s glorious novel to the stage. We have assembled an extraordinary cast who will bring vivid detail and incredible range to the various, beloved characters who make up this community. And I’m delighted to be collaborating again with this creative team who we last worked with on The Autobiography of a Cad. We can’t wait to bring this world premiere to life. “

AN AUDIENCE WITH RICHARD COLES

A FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR THE WATERMILL THEATRE

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER 2026, 2.30PM

Richard Coles will be in conversation at the Watermill during the run of Murder Before Evensong in An Audience with Richard Coles on Friday 16 October 2026 at 2.30pm. This fundraising event is an opportunity to hear about his inspiration for his bestselling novel Murder Before Evensong, how he captures the essence of quintessential English village life in his fiction, and how he leads his hero Daniel Clement to capture a killer. 

There will also be a book-signing after the event with a selection of books available to buy on the day. All profits from An Audience with Richard Coles will go towards supporting the Watermill Theatre with their ongoing work, both on and off the stage.