To celebrate the West End premiere of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry starring Mark Addy, Jenna Russell, and Noah Mullins at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Passenger—who wrote the show's music and lyrics—performed a special one-off concert.
The popular book by Rachel Joyce was first turned into a film and has now become a musical, which opened on the 29th of January 2026 in London following a successful run at Chichester last year.
Passenger (Michael Rosenberg) arrived on stage against the backdrop of the musical's set. He clearly has a loyal and loving following, as this concert was completely sold out. He was delightfully self-deprecating, explaining that he’d had to re-learn the songs for this last-minute show and pleading with us to "be gentle" with him.
For those not in the know, he gave a synopsis of the musical, which follows a quiet retiree who impulsively walks across England to visit a dying friend. Along the way, the journey forces him and his wife to confront grief, regret, and the possibility of healing. Passenger explained each of the songs before performing them simply—just him and his guitar at the front of the stage. He actually broke a string at the end of the first song, forcing him to improvise a bass ending, and it worked perfectly. If we hadn’t seen the string snap, we’d never have known. He’s a consummate professional.
The songs are both poignant and funny. ‘Song for the Countryside’ sets a jaunty pace with beautifully evocative imagery. Passenger also proudly announced that he thinks there is more swearing in ‘You’re F***ed’ than any other song ever written—including rap, hip hop, and grime. There is a lot of swearing, but it also happens to be a very funny song. For one number, he unplugged entirely and performed fully acoustic, which in that space was quite the treat.
He graced us with two of his non-Fry hits as an encore, including the smash ‘Let Her Go,’ which had the audience standing and singing along. It ended a stunning and unique concert with a standing ovation and a promise that my companion and I will definitely go see The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry before it ends its run on the 18th of April.
Review: Sara Newman