Get the latest gossip

Beverley Knight to play rock’n’roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe

The Olivier-winning star ‘excited and honoured’ to take the lead in the UK premiere of Marie and Rosetta, a 1940s-set two-hander from George Brant

Beverley Knight is to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a drama about the gospel singer and guitarist who became known as “the godmother of rock’n’roll”. I’m excited to be able to tell the Sister Rosetta story in this important play.” Knight said that she had “performed many times in plays at an amateur level” and was thrilled to be making her professional debut as Tharpe, whose “powerful, expressive voice, electrifying guitar and gospel message” laid the foundations for rock’n’roll. Director Monique Touko said: “This play allows us to not only celebrate the incredible lives of two trailblazing Black female musicians, but to immerse ourselves in their world, blending song and spectacle to bring their legacy to life.

Get the Android app