John Dagleish to star as Benjamin Button in West End musical

Dagleish won an Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Ray Davies in Sunny Afternoon and starred in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Olivier Award winner John Dagleish will star in the title role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End on 10 October.

Dagleish, who won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Ray Davies in Sunny Afternoon and starred in the live-action adaption of The Little Mermaid, will be joined by Matthew Burns, Jonathan Charles, Oonagh Cox, Anna Fordham, Philippa Hogg, Damien James, Ann Marcuson, Jack Quarton and Benedict Salter, all reprising their roles from the 2023 run at Southwark Playhouse. Elliot Mackenzie also joins the ensemble.

Jethro Compton and Darren Clark's musical is based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story, which was later made into a film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It tells the story of a man who is born elderly and ages in reverse, finding love against the odds.

The musical is directed and designed by Compton, with co-music supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Mark Aspinall and Clark, choreography by Chi-San Howard, costumes and associate stage design by Anna Kelsey, sound by Luke Swaffield, lighting by Zoe Spurr, and musical direction by Aspinall.

Further casting is to be announced.

Book The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: John Dagleish. (Photo courtesy of production)