George Maguire to play Jack Sparrow in immersive Pirates stage show

By Grace Kim

George Maguire will play Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Immersive Adventure, which opens March 10 at Secret Cinema’s new riverside venue on the Greenwich Peninsula. Previews begin Feb. 16.

Secret Cinema and TodayTix have cast Phil Daniels as Captain Barbossa, Lily Blunsom as Elizabeth Swann, Harrison Wilde as Will Turner and Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Anamaria. Matt Costain, also an Olivier winner, directs. The production will name the rest of the cast later.

The Greenwich Peninsula production is the first at Secret Cinema’s new site. The company plans to keep the riverside venue as its home, and strong demand has led the producers to add six weeks to the run.

“We’ve taken everything Secret Cinema does best and pushed it further than ever before, creating a new kind of theatrical experience where the story doesn’t just happen in front of you – it happens all around you,” said Merritt Baer, Secret Cinema’s artistic director and producer and president and co-founder of TodayTix Group.

Baer linked the opening to the company’s long-term development. He added: “This is exactly the kind of show we’ve been building towards and opening it in our new home at Greenwich Peninsula makes it even more exciting.”

What changes for audiences?

Secret Cinema’s change of approach replaces a full-film screening with a two-hour live story. The company calls the production fully immersive (audiences roam the sets, meet characters and take part in the action). Secret Cinema says no earlier stage version of the Pirates franchise has been fully immersive.

Instead of screening all of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the production uses selected clips alongside large set pieces. Live storytelling leads the show. Stunts and a live band run through the two-hour experience.

The creative team

• Jason Sherwood, a two-time Emmy winner, serves as production designer (the lead creator of the show’s sets and visual environment). His credits include live broadcasts of the Oscars and Rent Live.
• Kait Kerrigan, who wrote the book for Broadway’s The Great Gatsby, serves as theatrical adaptor (the writer who reshapes source material for the stage).
• Alan Williams, an Olivier winner, handles music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations (the written instrumental parts for the live band).
• Stuart Burt is casting director, Susan Kulkarni designs costumes, and Helen Keane of Campbell Young Associates designs wigs, hair and makeup.
• Alex Payne is fight director, the specialist who choreographs physical action.

Cast and credentials

Maguire won his Olivier for playing Dave Davies in the musical Sunny Afternoon. His screen credits include EastEnders, Prime Suspect and Borgia.

Phil Daniels is known for Quadrophenia, EastEnders and Blur’s “Parklife.” His other film work includes Chicken Run and Scum, and he appears with Olivia Colman in Wicker, due out in 2026.

Disney and the franchise

Disney Theatrical Group licenses the production. Angelo Desimini, the group’s senior VP of licensed partnerships and brand management, said Disney was excited by the chance to bring the franchise’s spirit to life through theatrical talent and immersive storytelling.

“Secret Cinema has assembled a remarkable team to create an experience that is both artistically ambitious and wonderfully entertaining,” Desimini said. “It’s a chance for audiences to experience the world of Tortuga in an entirely new way.”

Secret Cinema under TodayTix

TodayTix bought Secret Cinema in 2022, and Baer took charge of the company in 2024. Since then, Secret Cinema has staged Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical, which it calls its most popular production in 19 years.

Its catalogue of more than 70 shows also includes:

• Stranger Things
• Guardians of the Galaxy: The Live Experience
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Secret Cinema’s first previews on Feb. 16 will put its plan for Greenwich Peninsula into practice. The March 10 opening and six-week extension will show whether the new immersive format can become a regular part of life at the site.