Taron Egerton is withdrawing from his leading role in the Ambassadors Theatre limited run of COCK.
In a statement from producers posted to the West End show’s Instagram, the Rocketman star is departing the production for personal reasons. Egerton played opposite Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey, as “M” the boyfriend to Bailey’s character Josh — a gay man who begins to question his sexuality when he falls in love with a woman, identified only as “W.”
Written by Mike Bartlett and directed by Marianne Elliott, the show also stars Jade Anouka and Phil Daniels. The show’s first performance was on March 5 and is slated to run through June 4.
Egerton’s exit follows the announcement that the actor would be missing a week of performances after testing positive for COVID-19. During the show’s first week of performances, Egerton also collapsed suddenly towards the end of show. After Egerton was attended to by a doctor in the audience, understudy Joel Harper-Jackson completed the last 15-minutes of the play. The show’s former star returned to performing shortly after.
Harper-Jackson has been playing the role of “M” for the past 10 days while Egerton has been out. He will continue in the role for the remainder of the London show’s run.
In a statement, star Bailey called Harper-Jackson an “immense talent” and is “proud to continue sharing the stage with him.” Elliot also shared a statement of her own, calling the former understudy “an absolute hero” who “stepped into the role at extremely short notice.”
