FIREBIRD Revival at Southwark Playhouse Borough Announces Complete Cast

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Marlie Haco directs Mollie Milne, Taqi Nazeer, and Kelise Gordon-Harrison in Double Telling's new Glasgow-set staging.

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The full cast has been announced for the first revival of Phil Davies' Firebird. A decade on from its highly acclaimed West End transfer from Hampstead Theatre, Firebird returns to the London stage in a striking new production.

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Double Telling's Artistic Director, Marlie Haco, directs Scottish actors Mollie Milne (Tia) and Taqi Nazeer (AJ) alongside Mancunian actor Kelise Gordon-Harrison (Katie) in this powerful exploration of the shattering impact of grooming gangs on young girls and the catastrophic failures of the systems designed to protect them.

Firebird opens at Southwark Playhouse Borough on 15 July, with previews from 9 July, and runs until 1 August.

Director Marlie Haco said today, “Although the play was originally set in Rochdale, where some of the first major cases involving grooming gangs came to light, we now know that this issue affects communities across the UK. With that in mind, we met actors from all over the country during the casting process, and Phil Davies' and I ultimately made the decision to relocate the production to Glasgow. I'm excited to work with these three talented actors to bring this new staging of Firebird to Southwark Playhouse Borough, and I hope it will spark meaningful conversations about an issue that continues to devastate communities across the nation.”

For this production, Double Telling is partnering with charities including One in Four, Lasting Support, and Together (Southwark Wellbeing Hub) to raise awareness and forge connections with survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE).

The fragile bond that develops between two teenage girls is tested in ways neither of them could have imagined when one of them is drawn into the dangerous orbit of an older man.

Raw and unflinching, Firebird exposes the shocking reality of grooming and exploitation and asks whether friendship can withstand the pull of destructive forces.

Marlie Haco's revival combines Davies' “remarkably potent” text (The Times) with movement and an original score to shine a light on an ongoing national crisis.

This production reunites OFFIE nominees Marlie Haco (Director) and Tomás Palmer (Set Design), with Olivier Award-winner Ben Jacobs (Lighting Design), to offer a fresh lens on Phil Davies' debut drama.

Mollie Milne plays Tia marking her London stage debut. Her theatre credits include Island Town (Tron Theatre) and Roman Daggers (Prague Shakespeare Company). Her film credits include Hangnail, Blackwool, Groom, Kayla & Kyle and Haggis; and for radio, The True Story of Bonnie Parker . Milne trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Taqi Nazeer plays AJ. His theatre credits include Macbeth (An Undoing) (UK and US tour, Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre), Oor Wullie, Passing Places (Dundee Rep), Jinnistan (Traverse Theatre), An Edinburgh Christmas Carol (Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre), Enemy, Beautiful Burnout ( National Theatre of Scotland ), Rishta (Òran Mór), The Assessment (Rose Theatre), The Deranged Marriage (Rifco Arts), Stowaway (Analogue Theatre), The Domestic Crusaders (Tara Arts) and One Million Tiny Plays About Britain (Jermyn Street Theatre). His television credits include The Ridge, The Control Room, Six-Four, Shetland, Annika, and The Replacement; and for film, I Swear and Murder in a Highland Manor. Nazeer trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Kelise Gordon-Harrison plays Katie marking her London stage debut. Her theatre credits include A Christmas Fair (Oldham Coliseum), Romeo and Juliet (Liverpool Everyman Theatre), Best Mates, Top Bins & Venga Venga (Royal Exchange Theatre), Danesha (Lowry, Salford), Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare North Playhouse), Burdens – Vignettes (Hope Mill Theatre) and The Not So Big Bad Wolf (Sheffield Amphitheatre). Her television credits include Just Act Normal; and for film, The Great North and Treading Water. Gordon-Harrison trained at Rose Bruford.

Phil Davies is a playwright and screenwriter. His debut play Firebird premiered at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2015 and then transferred to Trafalgar Studios. His other plays include Landmines, How to Not Murder, Up the Dale, Come to Where I'm From, Adjusted and The Makings. His screenwriting credits include Rockets, Dolly Making Soap with a Serial Killer, Best Before, The Few and The Loss Adjusters; and for radio, The B Towns: The Punjab.

Marlie Haco is a theatre director and dramaturg. Her directing credits include the award-winning Run Sister Run (Arcola Theatre), Proud (King's Head Theatre), Knife on the Table (The Cockpit Theatre), Good Day (VAULT Festival), Vengeance (Pleasance Theatre), Lovesick (Hope Theatre), Words Without Consent (Brighton Fringe, Southwark Playhouse Borough) and Chinese Boxing (Playground Theatre, Norwich Fringe). As Assistant Director, her credits include Mary, Anthropology (Hampstead Theatre) and Coram Boy (Chichester Festival Theatre, The Lowry). Haco trained on The National Theatre Directors Course in 2025 and was Resident Director at Hampstead Theatre 2022-2023. She is also a reader for Soho Theatre, as well as for playwriting prizes including the Bruntwood and the Verity Bargate Award.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Full-Cast-Set-For-FIREBIRD-at-Southwark-Playhouse-Borough-20260520)._