Lily Allen and Jack Whitehall are set to star in the forthcoming drama Virginia Woolf’s Night And Day, which will premiere this summer as part of SXSW London.
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An adaptation of the 1919 novel by Woolf, Haley Bennett plays a female astronomer who fights to overcome the patriarchal attitudes of early 20th Century Britain. Allen is listed in the cast as playing a character named Mary Datchet, while Whitehall will be playing William Rodney. Jennifer Saunders, Timothy Spall, and Sally Phillips round out the cast.
The production will be the opening film of the Screen strand of SXSW London, the UK spin-off of the American arts festival which takes place in the Shoreditch region of the capital from June 1 to 6. The festival also includes talks, workshops, and live performances from the world of music, film, and tech. The festival’s full programme of events can be found here.
It will be the first major film role for Lily Allen, who has acted sporadically in addition to her chart-topping music career. On TV, she has appeared in the series How To Build A Girl and Dreamland, as well as playing herself in Australian soap Neighbours. She has also enjoyed a successful acting career on stage, appearing in the West End productions of 2:22 A Ghost Story and Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman.
The singer and actor is still enjoying the success of her critically acclaimed album ‘West End Girl’ – which marked her first new album in eight years, and detailed her tumultuous split from Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
Since its 2025 release, the record has been nominated at the Ivor Novello Awards and has seen Allen embark on a sold-out theatre tour across the UK and the US before she plays some bigger shows later in the summer.
Despite this success, the artist revived her Cameo account recently, charging fans almost £400 for personalised video messages.
English (US) · 