Photo Flash: Inside Rehearsal For LEAVE TO REMAIN at the Lyric Hammersmith

The world premiere of Leave to Remain, a new play with songs by Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke and writer Matt Jones (Doctor Who, Mr Selfridge), runs 18 January - 16 February 2019 at the Lyric Hammersmith. Kele has written 14 original new tracks for the show and the soundtrack will be released on press night, Thursday 24 January 2019.

Leave to Remain is directed by Robby Graham (Artistic Director of Southpaw Dance Company and choreographer of the National Theatre's production of Angels in America) who brings a strong, physical movement vocabulary to the piece.

Leave to Remain is a tender portrait of love in the face of an uncertain future. Obi (Tyrone Huntley) and Alex (Billy Cullum) are a young gay couple leading busy London lives. When Alex's visa comes into question, their relationship takes a turn. Marriage is an option, but the timing isn't perfect, and it means confronting their families and their pasts.

Leading the cast are Tyrone Huntley who plays the role of Obi and Billy Cullum who plays Obi's partner, Alex. Tyrone's previous credits include the much applauded role of Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre) for which he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and won the Emerging Talent Award at The Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Billy has many theatre credits to his name including the West End productions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda the Musical, and most recently the critically acclaimed Little Shop of Horrors (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre).

Frther cast includes Aretha Ayeh, playing Chichi who was recently part of the Royal Shakespeare Company season including new musical Miss Littlewood, The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich and The Duchess of Malfi. Rakie Ayola joins the company to play Grace. Rakie is best known for her role in BBC's Holby City, more recently she took over the role of Hermione Granger in the West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Sandy Batchelor joins to play Raymond. Sandy recently appeared in the ATG UK tour of Strangers on a Train. Playing Damien is Arun Blair-Mangat, his credits for the National Theatre include Angels in America, Wig Out and he was in the original West End cast of Kinky Boots. Martin Fisher takes on the role of Brian, who has recently appeared in My Fair Lady at Sonning Theatre. Johanna Murdock, who plays Diane, has worked extensively in theatre and television, theatre credits include King Lear (Duke of York's Theatre) and Comedy Of Errors (The Globe on Tour). Cornell S. John plays Kenneth. Cornell played Mufasa in the original West End cast of The Lion King and will appear in the forthcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.

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