Grace Mouat and Jacob Fowler to star in Before After musical premiere

The Grey Area has announced the live UK stage premiere of new British musical Before After by Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman.

The company’s artistic director Georgie Rankcom will be directing the show, featuring Grace Mouat and Jacob Fowler in the two roles.

The musical is a love story about a couple given a second chance at happiness, and its live run next spring follows a previous streamed version from Southwark Playhouse in 2020.

The production is scheduled to open at Southwark Playhouse Borough (Little) on 9 February, with previews starting from 7 February, and will run until 2 March 2024.

Rankcom explained today: “Before After has a strong cult following across the globe – our rehearsed reading streamed during lockdown reached 44 countries, causing #BeforeAfterUK to trend on Twitter, and led to calls for a fully staged version to follow. A long running Japanese translation and a successful tour of the Netherlands have given the writers an opportunity to hone the piece over the last few years. We established the Grey Area to support the growth of new musicals, so I can’t wait to bring this show home to the UK in our new production.”

Mouat, known for her roles in Six, & Juliet, Be More Chill and other productions, plays Ami. Jacob Fowler, with credits in Heathers, Dreamboats and Petticoats and more, plays Ben. The duo reunite following their appearance together in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Hope Mill Theatre last year.

The creative team for the production includes musical director, Ben McQuigg (He/Him), movement director, Tinovimbanashe Sibanda (She/Her),  set and costume designer, Yimei Zhao (She/Her), lighting designer Alex Musgrave (He/Him), casting director, Peter Noden (He/Him), production stage manager Waverley Moran (She/They); aartist Jed Berry (He/Him) and a photographer, Danny Kaan (He/Him).

Tickets for Before After are priced at £21/£26.50 (£10/£16 for previews).