Featuring the Music of Paul Weller | Book by Beth Lauren
An invitation-only industry reading with live music
20 October 2026 | 7:00 PM
Canal Café Theatre, Westbourne Terrace Road
(Delamere Terrace), Little Venice, London, W2 6ND
An original stage musical inspired by Paul Weller’s landmark album, telling a sweeping story of love, ambition, regret and the lives we might have lived.
/ Synopsis
WILD WOOD | A STORY OF DREAMS & CHOICES
Danny has built his life around the promise of later: later he will write the novel, take the risk, become the man he once intended to be. But later never comes. Spanning twenty-five years, Wild Wood tells his story through three women: Emily, his ex-wife; Kate, his younger partner; and Julianna, the woman he loves but cannot fully choose. Their different relationships with Danny reveal how one person’s fear of stepping fully into the life he wants can shape the lives around him—and how each woman eventually finds her own way forward. With Paul Weller’s seminal 1993 album Wild Wood as its musical spine, the show explores the cost of postponing creative ambition and emotional truth and the possibility of transforming profound loss into friendship, purpose and a shared future.
/ Cast
Declan Bennett
“Danny”
Rebecca Trehearn
“Julianna”
Frances McNamee
“Emily”
Molly Lynch
“Kate”
Alisha Weir
“Hannah”
Hatty Anderson
Narrator
/ Music
Wild Wood is an original new stage musical inspired by and built around Paul Weller’s seminal 1993 album. Weller’s music is its dramatic spine: the songs carry the story, reveal character and give voice to what cannot be said.
/ Creative Team
Beth Lauren
Writer, Director, Producer
Tom Van Heel
Music Supervisor
/ Reading Music Team
Matt Arthur
Guitar
Danny Arthur
Piano
/ Reading PhotograPhy
Sophie Sheinwald
Photography
/ event information
Invitation-only Industry Reading
Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Arrival: 7:00 pm
Performance: 7:15 pm
Canal Café Theatre, London
Running time: 75 mins (approx.), no interval