Rupert features as Jonathan Jay in the new musical Flyby at the Southwark Playhouse Borough, London from 3 April to 16 May 2026. Flyby is created and directed by the team Theo Jamieson and Adam Lenson.

Click here for more info and tickets direct from the Playhouse!

It will probably help if you have some idea about what is happening before you attend, so here’s this charming synopsis:

Rehearsal photos were taken by Alex Brenner. Pictured with Rupert are Gina Beck, Simbi Akande and Poppy Gilbert.

Reviews

Unfortunately some of the Press Night reviews were not as glowing as we might like, but kudos to the Flyby team for doing something different!

The Stage (limited access to free articles): 4 stars: Extraordinary and absorbing musical

Refreshingly unconventional new musical exploring the fallout from a deeply troubled romance

London Theatre: 3 stars: The roles of the three narrators – Rupert Young, Gina Beck, and Simbi Akande – are underdeveloped; they provide a vaguely professorial commentary, and Young and Beck briefly play Emily’s parents. It’s luxury casting as all three performers are unusually high profile for what’s essentially ensemble work.

… It’s undoubtedly a perplexing piece, and while the book could do with a considerable amount of revision, it is deserving of admiration for being so unusual and wilfully uncommercial. It follows its own path and everyone who sees it, for better or worse, is sure to have a different response.

Theatre Weekly: 2 stars: Emily’s backstory is more developed, though no less clichéd. She is a nepo baby who witnessed her father’s infidelity, a formative experience that the show suggests has turned her into a sociopathic bully. Rupert Young does strong work in the role of the father, largely because he is given something approaching emotional complexity. Gina Beck and Simbi Akande, by contrast, are criminally underused.

… Jamieson’s score is, in isolation, often very beautiful. There is a clear musical intelligence at work, but it is let down by opaque lyrics and muddled narrative framing. A song about sitting still exemplifies the issue.

… The creative team are clearly ambitious and aiming high, but ambition alone is not enough. Flyby reaches for the stars, yet without a clear trajectory it drifts, and it is only the exceptional cast that stop this journey into the void from feeling entirely weightless.

The Arts Desk: new musical is stratospherically impressive

… We start with the chorus (Rupert Young, Gina Beck and Simbi Akande – and, with talent like that, you’re straight away wondering about how good the principals will be!). 

… And, just in case I have left you in any doubt, Flyby is one of the best new British musicals I’ve seen in years, bold in conception and execution and dazzlingly performed. Don’t miss it!

Musical Theatre Review: 3 stars: Their chemistry is clear, but there are also constant disagreements, a hint as to why Daniel will end up travelling solo. Stuart Thompson, as Daniel, is brilliant in bringing the character to life, portraying a whole range of emotions. The same can be said of Gilbert who gives a meaningful performance. Gina Beck, Rupert Young and Simbi Akande are also excellent throughout.

… Flyby boasts unique and poignant storytelling, which works well in the space at Southwark Playhouse. If you’re a fan of new musicals, this one would be worth a watch.

Curtain Call Reviews: Previous iterations of the piece have been developed through workshops and smaller showcases, but this staging feels like a fully realised evolution, with a scale and ambition that pushes beyond typical fringe expectations.

The cast is small but mighty, with two central performers carrying the emotional core of the show, supported by three narrators who weave in and out of the storytelling with clarity and intention. The performances lean into a grounded naturalism, refreshingly real, believable, and deeply relatable. There’s a noticeable commitment to truth in the acting, which makes the more abstract, intergalactic elements feel rooted and accessible. 

… This is a show that doesn’t hand you answers – it invites you to sit with the questions. To reflect. To feel. To consider the ripple effect of our words, our relationships, and our silences.

Monstagigz: 2.5 stars: There’s much promise elsewhere in the creative team involved in this production with Adam Lenson (Cable Street, Southwark Playhouse) as co-creator and director and Rupert Young, Olivier Award-nominated for Dear Evan Hansen, playing various characters including Emily’s cheating father.

… If you’re a fan of new musicals as we are you might find something in This is a show that doesn’t hand you answers – it invites you to sit with the questions. To reflect. To feel. To consider the ripple effect of our words, our relationships, and our silences. FLYBY and Thompson is so committed he’s in tears at its close …

London Theatre Reviews: 1 star: Quite why this slender story requires three narrators is anyone’s guess. Gina Beck, Rupert Young, and Simbi Akande are all gifted performers, but they are wasted here, forced to provide commentary on a plot that consists entirely of two insufferable people being horrible to each other.

An earlier interview can be found at London Theatre Reviews here.

Liam O’Dell: 1 star: If anything, Daniel’s desire to leave (in his case, Earth) is probably the most relatable sentiment of the entire thing.

Broadway World: 2 stars: While the couple (Stuart Thompson and Poppy Gilbert, who give incredible performances and single-handedly save this show alongside the rest of the cast) slowly descends into heartlessness as their incompatibility starts to appear, the other three (Rupert Young, Gina Beck, Simbi Akande) attempt (and miserably fail) to forensically examine their downfall.

Regrettably, the shortcomings fully lie in the writing.

… While the fabric of the show is flawed and flimsy, the production looks great. Lenson’s direction is precise, with clever details sprinkled throughout. The scientists step out of Libby Todd’s gorgeous corner stage to observe their subjects, while projections shower the back walls with informational data and other graphics. These sleek, objectively pleasing visuals and exquisite performances are ultimately wasted. Turn on the news and follow the updates on the Artemis II mission, their flyby is more enjoyable than this one.

All That Dazzles: 2 stars: The other positive aspect that stops FLYBY from being a complete disaster is the sensational cast. Five incredible performers gather on a fairly claustrophobic stage, demonstrating their undeniable talents even when the material lets them down. It is a testament to them that they manage to make FLYBY as watchable as it is, where lesser actors would have crumbled under the confusion from the writing and direction. Rupert Young, Gina Beck and Simbi Akande act as a chorus for the events, regularly appearing as a trio to break up the events between the two leads, doubling as other characters throughout. All three have phenomenal experience, with some legendary roles and even an Olivier nomination to their names, so it is criminal how under-utilised and completely wasted they are here. Their roles are the equivalent of “That could have been an email”, suggesting FLYBY may have flown by a bit quicker had it been a two-hander.

Theatre and Tonic: 2 stars: There are some lovely melodies in the score, beautifully orchestrated by composer and writer Theo Jamieson. But a lot of the songs are discordant and jarring, with quickfire lyrics that mean many are lost. The three actors who provide a Greek Chorus style of narration (Rupert Young, Simbi Akande and a woefully underused Gina Beck) produce some wonderful, rich harmonies that elevate the performance. But these are few and far between.‍ The trio do well to deliver complicated dialogue at a very fast pace with crystal clear diction, although this pace is so fast that it’s hard to keep up despite their capable delivery.

FLYBY’s saving grace is definitely in the lead performances. As Daniel and Emily, Stuart Thompson and Poppy Gilbert are natural, confident and very watchable. Thompson has a glorious singing voice that brings depth and emotion to his impressive solo numbers. Gilbert portrays a very flawed young woman, full of anger and bitterness and hard to empathise with, but once she lets the barriers drop and displays some real emotion, it’s a very powerful and convincing performance.‍ ‍

WhatsOnStage: 3 stars: But the addition of the narrators, while offering some useful context, often feels like a frustrating distraction, and their delivery strikes an odd tone that lands somewhere between excitable podcaster and cod psychologist.

That said, they [the three narrators] are strong performers and, along with Gilbert and Thompson, brilliant singers, too. Which is a good job: the show’s songs, also by Jamieson, are as ambitious as its premise, pushing beyond the usual showtunes (though there are some soaring romantic ballads) and towards chromatic melodies and classical arrangements, played beautifully by the five-piece band, with lyrics both funny and flooring. A fair few could do with a hefty trim, however.

LondonTheatre1: 3 stars: The musical Flyby benefits from having a highly talented and hard-working cast of five …

The other three actors, Rupert Young, Gina Beck, and Simbi Akande, seem grossly underused as a sort of ‘Greek Chorus’ just commenting either in song or speech on the action, and occasionally playing minor roles. For example, Young is asked to open the show in the guise of a representative of the European Space Agency (or similar!), explaining the backstory of what we are about to see. He does this very well indeed: it is not his fault that this opening monologue is far too long – it seems about ten minutes but probably isn’t – and is far too complex for us to take in! In fact, I wondered whether or not the show was actually a musical for some time!

The Guardian: 3 stars: The songs soar and blast in this inventive tale of a toxic romance – though it needs a few tweaks to be truly brilliant