Show Racism the Red Card has announced the cast for the 2026 production of Our Little Hour – the musical based on the life of the late, great Walter Tull that will be touring theatres across the UK throughout February and March, coming to The Lighthouse, Poole, on 12th March.
Leon Newman (pictured top) returns to the show in the lead role as Walter Tull following his critically acclaimed performance during the 2024 sell-out tour. He will be supported by Neil Reidman, fresh from London’s West End where he played Major Metcalf in the world’s longest running, legendary show The Mousetrap. Neil is also returning to the cast and will be reprising his role as Daniel Tull. Joining the line up as Walter Tull’s mother, Alice, will be Geebs Marie Willliams, who has just completed a hugely successful run in the Barn Theatre’s box office hit Haywire.
Commenting on the fact that the 2026 revival production coming less than 18 months after the first tour Leon Newman said he was “not surprised that the show had been so well received”, adding that “everywhere we went audiences were profoundly moved by this wonderful piece of musical theatre.”
Hailed as “an intensely moving new musical drama” and “highly emotionally charged and utterly compelling” Our Little Hour tells the inspirational story of Walter Tull – who became the first black footballer to play at the highest level of the domestic game in the UK before achieving another historic breakthrough as the first man of his heritage to be commissioned as a commissioned officer in the British Army.
Written by award winning playwright Dougie Blaxland and celebrated composer Chris Anthony, Our Little Hour combines “16 hauntingly beautiful original songs” with “a powerfully poetic script” to dramatise Walter Tull’s astonishing story of courage and endurance; the grandson of a Barbadian slave and orphaned at eight years old, he nonetheless rose to prominence against all odds. Tragically killed in action just a few weeks before the end of World War 1, Walter Tull’s pioneering achievements have earned him a distinguished place in British history, and in the hearts of everyone who knows his story.
Director, Amanda Horlock, described Our Little Hour as “a celebration of the life of an extraordinary man whose pioneering spirit continues to inspire the campaign for justice and equality. This production honours the memory of one of the most significant figures in British sporting and military history.”
Combining a power packed drama with hauntingly original music, Paul Kearns, Director of Operations at Show Racism the Red Card, believes that the production “tells a really important story which will help to reinforce the work that we are doing to combat racism by engaging new audiences in a celebration of Walter Tull’s pioneering contribution to British society.”
The 2026 revival tour opens for a week at The Greenwich Theatre – London on 3rd February before touring the UK until the end of March.
For more information about the Poole performance, visit:lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/our-little-hour/
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