Beverley Knight to star in new musical about The Drifters

Created by Michael Harrison and David Ian, the Wolverhampton soul superstar will star in The Drifters Girl, with performances starting at Newcastle Upon Tyne's Theatre Royal on September 5, 2020.

Knight will take on the role of Faye Treadwell, the legendary manager of The Drifters, who, alongside her husband, fought for three decades to turn Atlantic Records' hottest vocal group into a global phenomenon.

The 46-year-old made her stage debut in 2013 in the role of Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard/

In 2014 she received an Olivier Award Nomination as Best Actress in a Musical for her much praised role of Felicia Farrell in the Tony Award-winning hit show Memphis The Musical, and in 2015 she played the iconic role of Grizabella in Cats at The London Palladium.

In 2018 she starred as Emmeline Pankhurst in musical Sylvia at The Old Vic, for which she won a best supporting actress award at the inaugural Black British Theatre Awards.

Further casting for The Drifters Girl is yet to be announced.

The show will include a series of hit songs, including Save The Last Dance For Me, Under The Boardwalk, Kissin In The Back Row Of The Movies, Stand By Me, Come On Over To My Place, Saturday Night At The Movies.

The Drifters Girl, with a book by Ed Curtis, will be directed by Jonathan Church, designed by Anthony Ward, choreography by Karen Bruce, lighting design by Ben Cracknell and music supervision and orchestrations by Chris Egan.

For more information and to buy tickets, click here.