West End transfer of 1536 announces complete casting

On the heels of Ava Pickett picking up the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, full casting has been revealed for the upcoming West End transfer of 1536.

Directed by Lyndsey Turner, the play, set in Tudor England, centres on three women in Essex whose lives are disrupted by rumours spreading from the court of Henry VIII concerning the fall of Anne Boleyn. It will open at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End for a strictly limited run from 2 May to 1 August 2026.

The West End production follows a sold-out engagement at the Almeida, where it premiered last year, being described as “an impressive, involving evening marking Pickett as a real talent to watch.”

Pickett’s debut script has won her the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the award for Best Writer at the Stage Debut Awards. She was also singled out as one of WhatsOnStage’s theatre faces to watch in 2026.

As previously confirmed, Siena Kelly, Tanya Reynolds and Liv Hill will all be reprising their leading roles of Anna, Mariella and Jane, respectively, from the acclaimed Almeida Theatre production. They will be joined on stage by Oliver Johnstone as Richard and George Kemp (High Noon) as William.

The company is completed by Harry Bradley (The Play That Goes Wrong), understudying the roles of Richard and William, Saroja-Lily Ratnavel (Chasing Hares), understudying the roles of Jane and Mariella and Sydney Spencer (Hamilton), understudying the role of Anna.

This month, Pickett debuted The Manningtree Witches at Mercury Theatre in Colchester (you can read our 5-star review here) and Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy is opening at Stratford East later this year. On the film side, she’s also cooking up a big-screen version based on the life of Joan of Arc with Baz Luhrmann.

You can listen to her discuss all of these projects on the WhatsOnStage Podcast:

The production’s creative team includes Max Jones as set and costume designer, Jack Knowles as lighting designer, Tingying Dong as sound designer, Anna Morrissey as movement and intimacy director, Will Stuart as composer and arranger, Sam Lyon-Behan as fight director, and Edda Sharpe as dialect coach. Casting is by Amy Ball.

1536 is produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Sonia Friedman Productions, Annapurna Theatre and the Almeida Theatre.