SEAN DELANEY, DEBRA GILLETT, ALI HADJI-HESHMATI, AND LYDIA LARSON CAST IN WELCOME TO PEMFORT AT SOHO THEATRE
PRESS NIGHT: WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH
Soho Theatre today announces the cast for WELCOME TO PEMFORT, the next production in a Main House season that has already seen Miriam Battye’s The Virgins break box office records. Written by Sarah Power (Grud) and directed by Ed Madden (The Habits), the play follows Uma trying to save a struggling countryside castle (it’s just a fort). The plan is a Living History event – chainmail, sword fighting, the works. It’s almost coming together, and Kurtis, the new arrival, is fitting in better than expected. But in a village where everybody knows everybody, some things are hard to keep quiet.
Performing in the play are: Sean Delaney (The Ferryman, West End and Broadway; BBC’s Killing Eve) as Kurtis, Debra Gillett (Pandemonium, Soho Theatre; The Madness of George III, Nottingham Playhouse) as Uma, Ali Hadji-Heshmati (Lockwood & Co., Netflix; Lord of the Flies, Chichester Festival Theatre) as Glenn, and Lydia Larson (The Good John Proctor, Jermyn Street Theatre; You Stupid Darkness!, Paines Plough) as Ria.
Directed by Ed Madden (The Habits) WELCOME TO PEMFORT will be staged in Soho Theatre’s Main House, Friday 13 March – Saturday 18 April. Press Night: Wednesday 18 March.
Also announced today, the WELCOME TO PEMFORT creative team are:
Writer – Sarah Power
Director – Ed Madden
Set and Costume Designer – Alys Whitehead
Associate Set and Costume Designer – Victoria Maytom
Lighting Designer – Cheng Keng
Sound Designer – Max Pappenheim
Production Manager – Tom Davis-Coleman for The Production Family
Costume Supervisor – Florence McGlynn
Casting Director – Becky Paris
Intimacy Director – Georgina Makhubele
Fight Director – Enric Ortuño
Company Stage Manager – Lisa Cochrane
Deputy Stage Manager – Abi Morris
Assistant Stage Manager – Charlotte Smith-Barker
Sarah Power’s Welcome to Pemfort is part of a season of in-house produced new writing in Soho Theatre’s Main House alongside Eoin McAndrew’s Verity Bargate Award-winning Little Brother, David Ireland’s Most Favoured, Miriam Battye’s The Virgins, and Dave Harris’s Tender.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Photo available here.
For further information, tickets, interviews, images…: press@sohotheatre.com
Listings
Soho Theatre presents
WELCOME TO PEMFORT
Written by Sarah Power
Directed by Ed Madden
Fri 13 Mar – Sat 18 Apr
Soho Theatre – Main House
From £13
Uma’s running a struggling countryside castle, and everything’s finally falling into place for Pemfort’s first Living History event.
Glenn’s got his sword-fighting down, Ria’s befriended a deer, and new arrival Kurtis is settling in well.
But in a village where everybody knows everybody, some truths refuse to stay buried.
A new play from writer Sarah Power (Grud) and director Ed Madden (The Habits) about what we owe each other when the past demands a reckoning.
Press Night: Wed 18 Mar
Captioned Performance by Alex Romeo: Wed 1 Apr, 7pm
Audio Described Performance by Miranda Yates: Tue 31 Mar, 7pm
BIOGRAPHIES
CAST
ALI HADJI-HESHMATI – Glenn
On stage, Ali recently played the major role of Simon in LORD OF THE FLIES at The Chichester Festival Theatre and played in the 4-hander ANTIGONE (ON STRIKE) at the Park Theatre. On screen, he was a series lead in LOCKWOOD & CO. created by Joe Cornish for Netflix. Alongside this, he had a regular role in the comedy BAD EDUCATION for the BBC, directed and written by Jack Whitehall and Freddie Syborn. Prior to this, Ali was seen as the large recurring role of Abs Shah in the final series of HOLBY CITY, and can also be seen in the role of Javid in ALEX RIDER for Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios.
DEBRA GILLETT – Uma
Debra Gillett is an actress with an extensive career across theatre, film, television, and radio.
Recent stage credits include WELCOME TO PEMFORT and PANDEMONIUM at Soho Theatre; EXIT THE KING, YOUNG CHECKHOV: THE SEAGULL, YOUNG CHECKHOV: IVANOV, THREE DAYS IN THE COUNTRY, A SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS and TARTUFFE at the National Theatre; NOISE OFF at the Lyric Hammersmith; MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III at Nottingham Playhouse; and LIMEHOUSE at the Donmar Warehouse. She was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for THE COUNTRY WIFE by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Film credits include: THE CRITIC (dir. Anand Tucker); BRIDGET JONES’S BABY (dir. Sharon Maguire); PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES (dir. Burr Steers) and NOTES ON A SCANDAL (dir. Richard Eyre).
Television credits include: INSIDE NO9 (BBC); CALL THE MIDWIFE series 3 (BBC); CRANFORD CHRONICLES (BBC Television); and DOCTOR WHO (DW Productions/BBC Television).
Radio credits include: LOOT (BBC Radio); LITTLE ANIMAL ARK STORIES and INDIGO STAR (Heavy Ent Ltd.)
LYDIA LARSON – Ria
Lydia is an actor and writer from the West Midlands. She performed her debut play FINDING FASSBENDER at Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe and Vault Festival and it received its American premiere at Inis Nua Theatre, Philadelphia.
Other theatre credits include: THE GOOD JOHN PROCTOR (Jermyn Street), YOU STUPID DARKNESS (Paines Plough), SKIN A CAT – Offie Shortlisted Best Actress (Bunker Theatre and tour), BRUTAL CESSATION, TRAVESTY (Assembly Rooms), WE HAVE FALLEN (Underbelly), THE AFTER- DINNER JOKE, SPRINGS ETERNAL (Orange Tree), PERSUASION (Salisbury Playhouse), 24 Hour Plays (Old Vic), Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Royal Bath and Number one tour), Arcadia (Sonia Friedman Productions).
TV and film credits include: The Syndicate (Halcyons Heart Films/Channel Four), Safari (My Accomplice), Wool Coat (Purl Works), Father Brown, Call The Midwife, Doctors (BBC), A Gift From Bob (Studio Pictures).
SEAN DELANEY – Kurtis
Sean is soon to star in the anticipated A24 series IT GETS WORSE, created by and starring Leo Reich. He is best known for his regular role in KILLING EVE, written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Directed by Harry Bradbeer. He played the leading role of Teddy in the BBC/AMC series LIFE AFTER LIFE, directed by John Crowley, based on the book by Kate Atkinson. His other screen credits include VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, where he played a young Stephen Graham, directed by Andy Serkis.
Sean’s theatre credits include the Tony/Olivier winning Jez Butterworth play THE FERRYMAN (West End and Broadway); THE VORTEX (dir. Daniel Raggett, Chichester); BRILLIANT JERKS (Southwark Playhouse); and Beth Steel’s LABYRINTH at Hampstead Theatre.
He trained at RADA.
CREATIVES
SARAH POWER – Writer
Sarah’s play GRUD was produced at Hampstead Theatre in 2024 and was nominated for an Off West End Award for Best New Play. She has recently been on attachment at the National Theatre and has an original TV project in development with Pulse Films.
ED MADDEN – Director
Ed has directed the world premieres of THE HABITS, OCTOPOLIS (Hampstead); THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT (Bush); YELLOWFIN (Southwark Playhouse); A TABLE TENNIS PLAY, and LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS LEMONS (Walrus). In dance and opera, he has directed COSÌ FAN TUTTE (Da Ponte Festival); THE LIMIT (Royal Ballet); and THE WORLD’S WIFE (Welsh National Opera). He is from Bristol and based in London, where he is Associate Dramaturg at the National Theatre.
PRAISE FROM ARTISTS AS SOHO THEATRE MARKS 25 YEARS IN ITS SOHO VENUE
Ryan Calais Cameron: ‘Soho Theatre was a major launchpad for me, it helped nurture my voice through the Writers’ Lab, gave my play Typical its first stage, and took Queens of Sheba from Dean Street to New York. It’s where my stories first found their rhythm and their reach.’
Poppy Jay: ‘[Soho Theatre] is embracing of talent and people from other backgrounds. It’s completely different to how I always imagined theatre spaces to be.’
Bryony Kimmings: ‘It’s an extraordinary space for people whose work is genre-pushing… They never say no. They trust you to be creative. It’s managed to establish a mark of quality and experimentalism. It feels like if you’re there, you’re original, you’re good quality.’
Jack Rooke: ‘It’s always been good at taking a risk on new talent and not just following where the buzz is.’
Prashasti Singh: ‘It’s surreal that I was aware of Soho Theatre as this very elite and prestigious venue. It was this fancy thing in my head where really big artists perform and it’s very classy, so on Monday when I came here and I saw my face on the entrance of Soho Theatre, I could have never imagined this day – it’s such a big deal and it’s such an honour. It’s great how life works sometimes.’
Phoebe Waller-Bridge: ‘Soho Theatre has a genuinely experimental, risk-taking attitude. It’s one of the only theatres that consistently puts on provocative work from lesser-known writers and performers and encourages them to be original. I’ve seen some of the best work of my life in those spaces.’
SOHO THEATRE is London’s most vibrant producer for new theatre, comedy and cabaret. Our central London venue in Soho is celebrating 25 years as one of the UK’s busiest with a buzzing bar, lively audiences and an entertaining year-round festival programme with a queer, punk, counter-culture flavour. Our second London venue SOHO THEATRE WALTHAMSTOW opened in May 2025, bringing our vibrant programme to its biggest stage yet. Work extends beyond our venues with a full touring programme and connections with New York, Melbourne and Mumbai. Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a huge part of our year, we present many shows and scout hundreds more and we are the UK’s leading presenter of comedians from India. Our filmed comedy specials can be seen on international airlines and online. And our artist development and participation programmes are as important as the work on our stages. Soho Theatre is a charitably-owned social enterprise; with annual audiences projected to increase to over 400,000 this year, turnover to exceed £11m and strong international links, it makes a positive contribution to growth in creative industries and UK soft power. sohotheatre.com / @sohotheatre.