Shadowlands with Hugh Bonneville announces complete West End casting

Complete casting has been announced for the West End production of Shadowlands, William Nicholson’s play about the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman.

Based on real events, Shadowlands was originally written as a television drama by Nicholson, who later adapted it for the stage.

The play won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play before transferring to Broadway, where it received a Tony Award. A film version directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger was released in 1993 and went on to win the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.

Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Siff have already been confirmed for the show, while joining them are Jeff Rawle (Drop the Dead Donkey, Doc Martin, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as Major W.H. Lewis (Warnie), Tony Jayawardena (Nye at the National Theatre, Bend It Like Beckham The Musical, RSC’s The Tempest) as Rev. Harry Harrington, and Timothy Watson (The Archers, A Man For all Seasons, Murder on the Orient Express) as Professor Christopher Riley, with Rebecca Blackstone, Nigel Fyfe, Jemma Geanaus, Sharan Phull, Leighton Pugh, Fode Simbo, Ernest Stroud and Giles Taylor. Ayrton English, Nathan Jago and Louis Wilkins will alternate the role of Douglas (Joy Davidman’s 8-year-old son).

The production, first staged at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2019 and directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, will run at the Aldwych Theatre from 5 February to 9 May 2026.

The West End run is presented by Jonathan Church Theatre Productions, Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Tilted, with design by Peter McKintosh, lighting by Howard Harrison, sound by Fergus O’Hare and casting by Annelie Powell and Jim Carnahan.