MARIE & ROSETTA

God don’t want the Devil to have all the good music right?

An ETT Rose Theatre, and Chichester Festival Theatre production

Written by George Brant
Directed by Monique Touko

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’, influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history.

Mississippi, 1946. Sister Rosetta has changed the face of gospel music with her exuberant, electric guitar-playing style. Shunned by straitlaced church folk for performing in nightclubs and glorying in rhythm and blues, she’s persuaded the saintly young singer Marie to join her on a tour of the segregated southern States. But first she has to convert Marie’s pure Sunday sound into something that has just a little more swing…

Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn’t It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe.

George Brant is an award-winning American playwright whose work includes Grounded (Fringe First and Off-West End Awards).

Monique Touko, winner of the 2022 Stage Debut Award for Best Director, whose acclaimed productions include The Boy at the Back of the Class, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Wedding Band and G, directs this UK premiere.

Running Time: Approx 1 hour 40 minutes (no interval)

Age Guidance: 12+. Children under 3 will not be admitted.

Family Ticket Offer: £140* for 4 tickets (minimum of 1 adult and 1 child). Blue & Pink seats only and excludes Friday & Saturday Performances. *A £4 booking fee applies to all purchases

First Call Offer: £60* for 2 tickets (1x First Call Member & 1 accompanying adult 18+). Excludes gold seats and Friday & Saturday Performances. *A £4 booking fee applies to all purchases

Access Information: Wheelchair positions can be booked by calling the Box Office on weekdays between 2pm-6pm – 01902 42 92 12 OR online by joining our access register.

Access Performances:

Captioned Performance – Saturday 31 May at 2.30pm

Audio Described Performance – Saturday 31 May at 2.30pm