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".

Written by US playwright George Brant (best known for the drone-pilot drama Grounded), Marie and Rosetta explores the personal and professional partnership between Tharpe and Marie Knight, with whom she toured and recorded. First staged off-Broadway in 2016, the play will have its UK premiere as a new co-production between the Rose theatre in Kingston, south-west London, and Chichester Festival theatre this summer.