Olivier Award nominee Jo Foster will lead the cast of new LGBTQIA+ musical May Day in a workshop performance at King’s Head Theatre this June.
Inspired by protests surrounding gender inclusion at Hampstead Heath Ladies Ponds, May Day is described as a modern fairytale following a water sprite spat out into an angry world they do not understand.
Jo Foster stars as Rae, a water sprite turned human, alongside Tylan Grant, known for playing Phoenix Hathaway in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, as Rae’s love interest Billy.
The cast is completed by Gracie McGonigal, Joni Ayton-Kent and Dillon Scott-Lewis.
Presented as part of King’s Head Theatre’s LATER programme, the workshop production follows a sell-out work-in-progress run in 2025 under the title Like a Rat and is led by an LGBTQIA+ cast and creative team.
May Day is conceived and directed by Millie Foy and Molly Stacey, with a book by non-binary writing duo Pound Puppy, Barney Doran and Anna Fenton-Garvey, and music and lyrics by Sam Woof.
Set over 24 hours at dawn on May Day, the story sees Rae tasked with saving the Heath from an ancient fire threatening both land and water, while navigating protest, rising tensions and an unexpected romance that challenges their mission.
Co-Director Millie Foy said, “May Day takes the very real location of the Hampstead Heath ponds and uses it to tell a completely fantastical story about a genderless water sprite, navigating the rules of our world and getting into trouble. The hope is to explore what we have in common – a desire to feel good, to rest, to feel protected from violence – as a way of unpacking the intergenerational conflict between feminists about who was allowed in single-sex spaces.”
She added, “May Day is our way of thinking through the policing of safe spaces and how that intersects specifically with gender. The show uses myth and magical realism to question how sanctuary is contingent on exclusivity – when that works and why it sometimes doesn’t. Hopefully we do that with a lot of compassion and with our empathy extended in all directions.”
Co-Director Molly Stacey said, “It’s a particular joy to be once again working with Jo Foster, originating the role of Rae. Jo was such a force of imagination in our first ever workshop, and the heart and humour they bring to every role never fails to blow us away.”
She continued, “May Day is lucky enough to be stacked with trans talent across a majority trans cast and creative team. From the music department to the performers onstage to the backstage team crunching numbers and getting bums on seats: all corners of this show have benefited from the expansive, inventive and radical creative mindsets of trans people.”
Producer Lilli Lehmann said, “In light of last year’s Supreme Court rulings around gender recognition, this story feels especially urgent and is close to our hearts. Throughout the creative process we continue to return to a message we believe strongly; places like the ponds are important sanctuaries, and it is vital to keep them inclusive and welcoming.”
May Day runs at King’s Head Theatre from 17 to 21 June.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
