Liverpool’s Royal Court announces additional cast members for Conteh

The ‘knock-out’ show is written by Aron Julius and part of the Royal Court’s mission to put Liverpool lives on stage.

Aron Julius leads the cast, telling the story of the city’s World Champion, with the show wit, resilience and a champion inside and outside the ring.

10 years old and fighting out of a club in Kirkby. 19 years old and winning gold at the Commonwealth Games. 24 years old and becoming the light heavyweight champion of the World. But that’s only half the story.

The production runs 17 April – 9 May 2026 with Aron Julius (Boys From the Blackstuff, Casualty) as John Conteh, the World Champion boxer from Liverpool, while also making his writing debut.

Conteh is directed by Mark Womack, who is making his directorial debut.

Forming the rest of the cast are Amber Blease (Boys From the Blackstuff tour), Helen Carter (The Scouse Christmas Carol, Shirley Valentine), Mark Moraghan (Casualty, Brookside), Zach Levene (The Responder, Bouncers Shakers and Teachers)

Aron says it’s vital that figures like John Conteh have their stories told within their lifetime to reshape how communities are seen within the city.

Aron said:

“John Conteh is a hero not simply because he was world champion, but because he fought in and out of the ring against opponents, against prejudice, against expectation. That resilience, that wit under pressure, that refusal to be diminished, it’s quintessentially Scouse in its nature. By telling these stories properly, we don’t just honour our past; we reshape how we’re seen in the present.

Telling varied stories about Scousers isn’t just an act of pride, it’s preservation. It protects our icons from being flattened into stereotypes and allows the country to see the depth, humour, grit and poetry that truly define Liverpool. When we tell the full story (the triumphs, the contradictions, the graft) we expand national perception beyond caricature and into complexity.”