Hot on the heels of the latest instalment of the acclaimed ITV Series GRACE, Superintendent Roy Grace is back in a brand-new Peter James stage adaptation and world premiere of the bestselling Picture You Dead.
Starring 2024’s multiple award-winning actor Peter Ash* (Coronation Street, War Horse), Strictly Come Dancing winner, presenter and stage actor Ore Oduba** (Pretty Woman, The Rocky Horror Show), Fiona Wade, who starred this year in 2:22 A Ghost Story following 12 years in Emmerdale, Jodie Steele (Wicked, Bonnie and Clyde, Heathers) and with Casualty’s George Rainsford (Call the Midwife, 2:22 A Ghost Story) returning as DSI Roy Grace.
With a total of 20 Sunday Times best sellers to his name, Picture You Dead, the seventh thrilling stage adaption, cements Peter James’s Grace Series as the most successful modern-day crime stage franchise since Agatha Christie.
Back home in Brighton, DSI Grace investigates a cold case that leads him to the secretive world of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a dark underworld of deception and murder.
When one unsuspecting couple unearth a potentially priceless masterpiece, they discover that their dream find is about to turn into their worst nightmare, and only Grace can stop them from paying the ultimate price.
Peter Ash will be playing all venues from 6 Feb – 17 May 25
Ore Oduba will be playing all venues 20 May – 26 Jul 25
Praise for Peter Jame’s plays:
★★★★★
‘One of the best crime thrillers I’ve seen on stage… kill for a ticket!’
Chichester Observer on Peter James’s Dead Simple
★★★★
‘Gripping storytelling. Full of twists and turns’
The Reviews Hub on Peter James’s Not Dead Enough
★★★★★
‘Will leave you breathless with suspense’
Whatsgoodtodo on Peter James’s The House on Cold Hill
★★★★★
‘A theatrical masterpiece’
Encore Reviews on Peter James’s Looking Good Dead
★★★★★
‘This thrilling thriller had the audience on the edge of their seats’
Latest 7 on Peter James’s Not Dead Enough
★★★★
‘A great night in the theatre’
BritishTheatre.com on Peter James’s The Perfect Murder
Peter Ash
Peter, a born and bred Mancunian, started his acting career straight out of college on the popular TV series Footballers’ Wives (Shed Productions/ITV). Other television roles include Blue Murder (Granada), Casualty (BBC), Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures), and most recently, Coronation Street, playing the character Paul Foreman and undertaking an award-winning Motor Neurone Disease storyline (Serial Drama Performance, 2024 National Television Award).
Peter also has plenty of stage experience, with theatre credits including Street Trilogy (Theatre Absolute), 5.30 (Cheap Seats Theatre), and War Horse (National Theatre, UK and South Africa tour). He is thrilled and very excited to be joining the cast of Picture You Dead.
*Peter Ash will be playing all venues from 6 Feb – 17 May 25
Ore Oduba
Ore Oduba is an actor and broadcaster whose stage credits include Brad Majors in the 50th anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show (West End/UK Tour) and Aaron Fox in the Kander and Ebb musical Curtains (West End/UK Tour). Ore has also played Teen Angel in Grease, Happy Man/Mr Thompson in Pretty Woman: The Musical, and is set to play lead role Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in early 2025.
Ore made his screen acting debut in BBC One primetime drama Noughts + Crosses. As an experienced and versatile presenter, familiar to audiences of This Morning, The One Show, and BBC Radio 2, he has fronted some of the biggest national events live to millions. Ore won the 14th season of Strictly Come Dancing in 2016.
**Ore Oduba will be playing all venues 20 May – 26 Jul 25
Fiona Wade
Fiona Wade is an accomplished actress, widely recognised for her role as Priya Sharma in ITV’s beloved long-running drama Emmerdale. Her captivating performances have earned her multiple nominations at the British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards. Recently, Fiona completed a successful tour with the hit play 2:22 – A Ghost Story, and she will soon be seen in the highly anticipated Fox comedy series Going Dutch.
Fiona’s extensive television credits include roles in popular series such as Grange Hill (BBC), 24Seven (CITV), Where The Heart Is (ITV), Doctors (BBC), Silent Witness (BBC), Inspector Lewis (ITV), Tracy Beaker Returns (CBBC), Law & Order: UK (ITV), and Coronation Street (ITV).
Her theatre credits are equally impressive, including the title role of Kim in Miss Saigon (Sweden & London’s Drury Lane Theatre), Anjuli in The Far Pavilions (Shaftesbury Theatre, London), Preethi in Strictly Dandia (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith), and Mamta in Alaska (Royal Court Theatre, London).
George Rainsford
Trained at LAMDA
George Rainsford is best known for playing series regular Ethan Hardy in Casualty for BBC1, for which he won the Inside Soap Award for Best Drama Star in 2017. He has also been nominated for both National Television Awards and TV Choice Awards for Best Actor on several occasions.
Other television credits include Holby City (BBC), Jimmy in two series of Call the Midwife (BBC), Law & Order: UK (ITV), Secret Diary of a Call Girl (ITV), Luke Boyd in Waking the Dead (BBC), and JJ Bell in Doctors (BBC).
Film credits include Bank of Dave: The Sequel, The Monkey’s Paw, Waiting for Dawn, Wild Target, and Souvenirs.
Theatre credits include 2:22 A Ghost Story (UK Tour), Wish You Were Dead (UK Tour), Love, Love, Love and The Changing Room at the Royal Court, All’s Well That Ends Well (Ian Charleson Award Commendation), Chatroom / Citizenship (National Theatre), Roald Dahl’s Twisted Tales (Lyric Hammersmith / Liverpool Playhouse), Days of Significance (RSC), The Man and Men Without Shadows (Finborough Theatre), Carrot/Playlist, Miles to Go (Latitude Festival), Polar Bear (Birmingham Rep), The Three Musketeers (Bristol Old Vic), The 24 Hour Plays (The Old Vic), and Murder in the Cathedral (National Youth Theatre).
Jodie Steele
Theatre includes: Diana in Filumena (UK tour), Shelley in Bat Boy (London Palladium), Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (Garrick Theatre), Heather Chandler in Heathers (West End and The Other Palace), Sheila in Hair (The London Palladium), Katherine Howard in Six (UK tour), Sherrie in Rock of Ages (UK Tour), Myth (The Other Palace), Elphaba in Wicked (UK and International Tour), Betty Belle in Billie the Kid (Vaudeville Theatre), Beth Boscombe in Rehab (West End and Playground Theatre), Daisy Buchanan in Gatsby (Southwark Playhouse), War of the Worlds (Dominion Theatre), Margot/Cover Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (Kilworth House), Soul Girl/Cover Mary in Jesus Christ Superstar (UK Tour), Carmen in Fame (UK Tour).
TV includes: Lily Vernon in Malory Towers (BBC), Katerina Kaminska in Professor T (ITV), EastEnders (BBC), Emmerdale (ITV).
PETER JAMES – NOVELIST
Peter James is a UK No.1 bestselling author, best known for his Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, now a hit ITV drama starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper.
Much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern day policing, he has won over 40 awards for his work including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger. In 2024, it was announced that he is the creator of Her Majesty Queen Camilla’s favourite fictional detective.
To date, Peter has written an impressive total of 20 Sunday Times No. 1s, sold over 23 million copies worldwide and been translated into 38 languages. Her Majesty Queen Camilla has announced that Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is her favourite fictional detective. His books are also often adapted for the stage, with his six stage shows grossing over £17 million at the box office – the most recent being Wish You Were Dead.