'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' cast and creatives talk about the show's incredible journey

The heartfelt musical adaptation of Rachel Joyce’s bestselling novel is coming to the West End. Its creators and stars tell us why this show about a seemingly ordinary couple is having such a profound effect on audiences.

Summary

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry opens at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 29 January
• Mark Addy and Jenna Russell lead the cast as Harold and Maureen Fry
• Rachel Joyce adapts her book for the stage
• Passenger has written the music and lyrics

Most people first encountered the eponymous hero of The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in Rachel Joyce’s beloved and award-winning 2012 novel, but the character actually began his path in spoken-word drama. Now he’s come full circle: Harold is the star of a gorgeous new British stage musical, which, following its premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre, is heading to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, starring Mark Addy and Jenna Russell and featuring a book by Joyce and music by singer-songwriter Passenger.

The story follows quiet retiree Harold, who receives a letter from a terminally ill former colleague. Harold begins walking from Devon to Berwick-upon-Tweed to see her, and along the way his world is enriched by chance meetings with strangers. Meanwhile, back home, his wife Maureen goes on her own journey as this estranged couple reckon with their grief.

The novel was adapted into a film in 2023, but seeing it on stage is a particular thrill for Joyce, who trained at RADA and worked as a theatre actress for two decades before switching to writing. She originally created Harold’s story as a three-hander play for BBC Radio 4, and it was deeply personal, she explains: “I wrote it for my dad when he was dying, so it always stayed with me.”

Harold then became a novel, though after adapting her book for stage, Joyce observes: “I’ve realised there is a theatricality to my fiction – it must be because theatre is in my bones. Not to mention the book is quite episodic, with Harold stopping to meet new people, so it really lends itself to the musical format, where each person can open up their heart through song.” However, Harold himself has trouble expressing his emotions, so Joyce added a new narrator-esque character, the Balladeer (played by Jack Wolfe in Chichester and now by Noah Mullins). As she notes: “What Harold can’t say about himself, the Balladeer can tease out for us.”

Those hints come in modern folk-style songs from the prolific Passenger aka Mike Rosenberg, who has produced 14 albums and is adored for his smash-hit single “Let Her Go” (a song with almost four billion views on YouTube). Theatre was an entirely new world to him – and it was an adjustment, he confesses. “Writing for a musical is completely different to anything I’ve ever done with Passenger. Submitting songs to a group of creative people to feed back on, and tell me what’s working and what’s not, took some getting used to. It was a bit humbling and a bit of an ego blow at times, which is no bad thing. It’s really improved the way I write – it’s broadened my horizons.” It was all worth it in the end, he adds: “Now I’m just so happy I said yes. I watch [the show] and can’t believe all these talented people are singing my songs. It’s amazing.”

That terrific cast is led by Addy as Harold. The Full Monty and Game of Thrones star has appeared in numerous plays at the National Theatre, and was Olivier-nominated for Collaborators, but this is his first ever musical. Like Passenger, he stepped out of his comfort zone for Harold Fry, he explains. “Reading it, it really grabbed my heart – I was in absolute bits – and then hearing the demos Mike recorded, I was completely blown away. I thought ‘I cannot not do this. It’s a joyful thing.’ But I was a bit worried – my wife had to give me a nudge. I’m so glad she did.”

Addy had an extra challenge in figuring out how to play the taciturn Harold. Interestingly, the character doesn’t actually break into song until the very end of the show. “He literally finds his voice,” explains Addy. “It’s not a rousing, foot-stomping number, it’s very heartfelt and beautiful.”

That deeply moving song, in which Harold is finally able to share his story, is among Passenger’s favourites in the musical, he says. “I tried to channel my best Springsteen impression for that one. I’m really proud of it.”

Harold, of course, is on a physical journey as well as an emotional one, but, says Addy, director Katy Rudd was clear from the start that she didn’t want him to literally walk the whole time. “She said ‘An audience will get pretty bored of you going round in circles for two hours!’ Instead, Katy and [choreographer] Tom [Jackson Greaves] devised this brilliant movement to express how Harold interacts with the big wide world after being shuttered in his home for so long.”

Harold leaves behind his wife Maureen, played by renowned musical theatre actress Russell, whose West End work includes an Olivier-nominated turn in Merrily We Roll Along, and her Olivier-winning performances in Guys and Dolls and Sunday in the Park with George. “Whereas Harold goes and meets people, and his change happens that way, Maureen is on her own and her change happens in silence,” says Russell. “Since they experienced this tragedy, she’s dealt with her grief by blaming her husband, but once he’s gone there’s no one to be angry with, so she has to look inward and find a way to move forward.”

Russell was particularly struck by Maureen revealing that she used to have so many dreams, but now feels like an empty vessel. “She thinks life has passed her by and she’s let it happen,” says Russell. “A lot of women can probably relate to that, especially if you’re a parent or a carer. It’s a lovely arc to play because she’s so closed off, and then we begin to open the door and let a little light in.”

The show has plenty of irreverent humour too, not least in its most colourfully titled number – another of Passenger’s favourites. “I really like ‘You’re Fucked’,” he says. “That was the first song I wrote that really landed. It’s funny and there’s loads of swearing in it.”

There is a canine scene-stealer too: a stray dog who joins Harold, here in adorable puppet form. “That dog!” exclaims Joyce. “Every time the audience gasps and oohs and are shocked [spoiler alert!] when he leaves. Somebody actually said to me ‘Can’t you rewrite it so the dog comes back?’” Joyce also loves how all the different locations are instantly evoked by the cast using everyday items in Samuel Wyver’s ingenious design – reflecting that this is a story about ordinary-seeming people in an ordinary place.

Yet there’s something radical about a musical centring on two “normal, older people,” points out Russell. “They might not be about to change the world, but I constantly hear these sounds of recognition from the audience.” Addy says the show’s profound effect on people is “quite remarkable – I’ve never seen audiences so moved. Often it’s women comforting men who have been unexpectedly affected by it. I do think there’s this old-fashioned hangover of ‘You don’t show emotion, that’s not what men do’. This story lets people in and allows them to feel.”

Passenger notes that one of the show’s big themes is that, despite appearances, “everyone’s struggling and trying – everybody’s got something they’re trying to navigate”. Joyce agrees, noting that in some ways her story feels more resonant in the tech era, when so many of us feel isolated, than when she first wrote it. “You present your life to look great on social media even when it’s not. We’re also so glued to our phones that we don’t look up and see other people.”

Addy observes: “We just don’t know what somebody may be holding inside. The message here is let’s be kinder to each other, and sensitive to the fact that people might have things in their past that they’re dealing with.” Russell certainly relates to that, sharing that when she was having a hard time about 25 years ago, “I was on an escalator, feeling so devastated, and a person going the other way looked at me and gave me a smile. That little act changed so much – just a recognition from one human being to another.” Such themes are especially rich in the theatre, adds Joyce, since “it’s fundamentally a shared experience – we’re in it together. You can’t have that anywhere else.”

The grief and sadness “give way to joy at the end,” says Russell. “I really love the renewed hope and faith that the show gives you.” Addy enthuses that it’s “a little ray of sunshine. It’s just a dream to get to do it again in the West End.” Joyce is grateful that Harold Fry has continued its journey to this exciting new place, “because every step has brought me so much pleasure. Fundamentally the story is about ordinary people being capable of beautiful things. I still hold onto that, even when things are tough, and the show just encapsulates it so perfectly. It’s such a generous piece of theatre that you feel like you’ve been hugged.”

Book The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the January 2026 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Main photo credit: Mark Addy and Jenna Russell in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Chichester Festival Theatre. (Photo by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg). Inset: Addy and the cast of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry; Passenger; Addy with Sharon Rose; Passenger, Rachel Joyce, Addy and Noah Mullins. (Photos by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg and Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)