1536 confirms full West End cast
Published on 27 March 2026
With Hollywood backing, fresh award wins and a sold-out, critically acclaimed run at the Almeida Theatre, the West End transfer of 1536 is one of the most talked about new plays in London - and it hasn’t even opened yet! With the full cast confirmed today, the excitement for the historical drama only continues to build. So, who will take to the Ambassadors Theatre stage when it opens on 2 May?
As previously reported, reprising their roles from the original staging are BAFTA Award-nominee Liv Hill (Three Girls) as Jane, BAFTA Award-nominee Siena Kelly (Black Mirror) as Anna, and Olivier Award-nominee Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education) as Mariella. They will be joined by Oliver Johnstone (All My Sons) as Richard, and George Kemp (High Noon) as William.
The production also welcomes understudies; Harry Bradley (The Play That Goes Wrong) who will cover Richard and William, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel (Chasing Hares) who will cover Jane and Mariella, and Sydney Spencer (Hamilton) who will cover Anna.
The casting news comes in the same week that the show's playwright, Ava Pickett, received two major awards, winning both the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards and The Standard Theatre Awards for Most Promising Young Playwright for her debut play, 1536.
The transfer is backed in part by LuckyChap Entertainment, the company co-founded by Margot Robbie. Having starred in period projects Mary Queen of Scots and Wuthering Heights, Robbie is no stranger to historical drama - so you know this one is going to be good! In a statement, she said the company was drawn to Pickett’s play for its focus on female-led storytelling, describing it as “fearless, witty and emotionally resonant,” noting its contemporary relevance despite its Tudor setting.
Alongside Pickett’s recent award wins, 1536 has also been nominated for Best New Play at the Olivier Awards, while director Lyndsey Turner has received a nomination for Best Director. The play has previously been recognised with the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2024, a special commendation at the George Devine Award in 2023, and Best Writer at the Stage Debut Awards in 2025. It was also announced earlier this year that the BBC is developing the play into an eight-part television series.
Set in Tudor England, 1536 centres on three women in rural Essex whose lives become entangled with the fallout from the deteriorating relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. As rumours spread from court to countryside, the play explores how political upheaval and personal tensions intersect, with escalating consequences for the characters involved.
The creative team includes Turner as director, with design by Max Jones, lighting by Jack Knowles, sound by Tingying Dong, and music by Will Stuart. Anna Morrissey serves as intimacy director and choreographer, with casting by Amy Ball, fight direction by Sam Lyon-Behan, and dialect coaching by Edda Sharpe.
1536 plays at the Ambassadors Theatre from 2 May until 1 August 2026.
