Taron Egerton permanently quits Cock play for “personal reasons”
Taron Egerton has permanently withdrawn from his lead role in the West End play, Cock, due to “personal reasons”. Cock follows the story of John (Jonathan Bailey), a gay man who begins to question his sexuality, when he falls in love with a woman, W (Jade Anouka).
Egerton played the role of John’s boyfriend, M, but will not appear in any further shows. Joel Harper-Jackson, the Rocketman star’s understudy, will now appear in Egerton’s place. “The part was originally played in this production by Taron Egerton, who has had to withdraw from the production due to personal reasons,” said a statement from the producers. “Joel understudied the role and has been playing the part of M for the past 10 days while Taron was absent from the production having tested positive for Covid.” Director Marianne Elliott praised Harper-Jackson for being an “absolute hero.” “He is a brilliant and gifted actor and stepped into the role at extremely short notice,” she continued. “Audiences have been standing and cheering and so am I.” Egerton’s time in Cock has been faced with obstacle after obstacle, as the star passed out on stage during its first showing on 5 March.
Just a few weeks later, it was announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be missing its upcoming shows. Cock is scheduled to run until 4 June 2021 at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London.
