Seth A. Goldstein and Isaac Robert Hurwitz of Hugo Six present the new musical PRIVATE JONES. The show opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant on 14 December 2026 until 30 January 2027 with a national press night on 17 December 2026. The production, which weaves together sign language, live captioning, a Foley soundscape, and a sweeping original score, will feature a cast of hearing, hard-of-hearing, and deaf performers including BAFTA-winning actor, presenter and children’s author Rose Ayling-EllisMBE as The Storyteller, Ffion Haf as Gwenolyn/Evans, Nadeem Islam as Henry & Others, Bronwyn James as King & Others, George Karanja as Swing, Luke McCall as Father & Others, Lili Mohammad as Ensemble, Thea Munoz-Buirski as Ensemble, Katie Louise Pritchard as Swing/ Pit Singer, James Spence as Gomer Jones, Jacob Ethan Tanner as Alwyn & Others, Jacob Young as Trystan & Others.
PRIVATE JONES is a thrillingly theatrical, completely original new musical set in WW1 about the journeys that transform us and the friendships that remind us we’re not meant to go it alone.
Gomer Jones is restless to find where he belongs, but the recent loss of his hearing has left him feeling shut out of the world he longs to join. Amid a company of misfit young men, he becomes an unlikely hero, only to discover that the prize he’s been chasing may not be the one that matters. A coming-of-age story told with grit, heart, and a touch of irreverence, PRIVATE JONES is written and directed by acclaimed creative, Marshall Pailet , with choreography by Misha Shields; artistic sign language direction by Alexandria Wailes; music direction by Màth Roberts; set design by Anna Kelsey; lighting design by Tim Deiling; sound design by Yvonne Gilbert; video design by Ben Glover; associate direction by Alice Eklund; casting direction by Rob Kelly; BSL direction by Daryl Jackson; Welsh language consultancy by Lowri Morgan; music consultancy by Myrna Conn; production management by Sam Kelly, dramaturgy by Jac Moore.
PRIVATE JONES has been in development since 2021 and was first presented in October 2023 at Goodspeed Musicals in Chester, Connecticut. The February 2024 World Premiere production at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia won four Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding New Musical. The musical has since been reworked with consultation and input from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales where it was workshopped in 2025.
