PAST THEATRE PRODUCTIONS 2019/20

This multi-award winning journey through Paul Robeson’s remarkable life, highlights how his pioneering and heroic political activism were interwoven with his art. “Tayo Aluko does a fine job in evoking his dynamic presence... and in reminding us of Robeson’s vocal power in such songs as Ol’ Man River and the Battle of Jericho”.

(Guardian). A wonderfully uplifting and inspired performance.

The crowds cheered; the bands played; Queen Victoria waved. But among the smiling, adoring faces were men with murderous thoughts. During her rule there were seven attempts to assassinate Vicky, Empress of Nearly Bloody Everything. Who WERE these would be killers? This fascinating tale is told through melodrama, comedy and Rock n Roll!

A new play by Patrick Prior performed & produced by Isosceles (Pat Abernethy & Dave Marsden).

Shackleton's Endurance sank in Antarctica stranding 27 men. The carpenter, Harry McNish played a vital role in saving them. But he had defied Shackleton, so was never awarded the Polar Medal. Now, ill and destitute, he challenges Shackleton on the dockside.

“ Malcolm Rennie is stunning as Harry McNish.  It is a nuanced and masterful performance worthy of a Beckett play, with canny direction from the late Tony Milner” (Arifa Akbar - Guardian)
“Rennie's tour de force holds you until the very end”   (Clive Davis - Times)

Guy Masterson brings Dylan Thomas’s masterpiece vividly to life with this internationally recognised and awarded production. Masterson whisks the audience into a wonder-world of enchantment. The beauty of Thomas’s wordplay and the mastery of Masterson’s virtuosity will leave you breathless. A day in the life of Llareggub and all 69 of its ebullient characters. A masterpiece!

Jacqueline du Pre was a brilliant young cellist, whose career was brought to an end by multiple sclerosis. One of the most heart rending true-life tragedies of the 1970's. ''Duet for One, is a speculative dramatization of that story. It is an intensely moving & life enhancing look at what happens when unexpected events lead you to re-evaluate your life.

TheCOMPANY are the Heron's associate company.

Hardy’s masterpiece, traces the life of the young country girl Tess Durbeyfield, driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urberville family. This story of the innocent heroine is one of the most moving in all of literature, and is hauntingly brought to life in this new version by Hotbuckle.

A very welcome return to Hotbuckle who brought 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Emma' to the Heron in recent years.

In 1990 Arthur discovered a locked chest in an attic filled with letters between his mother, Edith and a soldier, Geoffrey, fighting in the tunnels along the Western Front. Edith and Geoffrey spent only four days together before Geoffrey went to war in 1916. Despite this, their letters are full of light & life. They tease and joke with each other, writing about shows, books & music they have enjoyed. It is impossible not to be moved by this real-life love story.

Glow was founded by Gloria and Francis Lowe, who together merge traditional storytelling with digital media and animation to create performances they hope will offer audiences a new and exciting experience.

The Wakes holiday tradition was well established at the time when Stanley Houghton wrote Hindle Wakes, first performed in 1912. Mills and factories would close at the same time and workers would take themselves off to the seaside. When such a trip goes wrong its impact on young Fanny Hawthorne is far-reaching and appears to threaten the reputations of all those around her.

This beautifully structured play takes place within exactly 24 hours and explores ideas about morality, justice and social class with compelling freshness.

Murder by Gaslight is a ghoulish audience with two of the most infamous poisoners in British history - William Palmer and Harvey Crippen. We invite you to encounter these murderous men of medicine, as the diabolical doctors regale you with their case histories and invite you to judge for yourselves whether they were in fact, guilty as charged!

Acclaimed actor Jonathan Goodwin plays Palmer and Crippen, in a play written by himself and co-directed by Goodwin and Gary Archer.

GreenMatthews present six of the best loved tales, recreating a medieval travelling theatre. The three man cast use drama, storytelling and song to paint a sumptuous picture of life in the Middle Ages, packed with colourful characters, strange situations and laughs-a-plenty.

Although Chaucer wrote this over 600 years ago, it still feels contemporary, fresh and vital, and wholly accessible to modern audiences.

An evening of zero gravity, retrospection and perspective that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the lunar landings in July 1969. The stories, the truth and the myths behind what is arguably human-kind's greatest achievement, Mariana Barbera and Gordon Meredith present their radio play live with sound effects. Contains strong language.

“Had a great night full of laughter! “                            “Loved it - clever and daft!”

Great plays are always produced from great stories and/or great characters, and what a character Florence Foster Jenkins was. Her eventual and final appearance was at a sell-out concert at the Carnegie Hall, New York, where she sang in 1944 to a packed house of 3,000 people. But regrettably the eccentric socialite could not really sing and was dubbed the 'worst opera singer in the world'.

A film version in 2016 with Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, was immensely successful. This lunatically funny stage version will make you very happy.

This Living Hand re-imagines conversations and events in the life of John Keats in the last years of his short life. Join the poet and his great friend, Charles Brown - not to mention an unfeasibly clever barmaid - as they confront the turbulence of life from 1818 to 1820. Keats and Brown, walking to Scotland, visited The King’s Arms in Burton in Kendal in July 1818, where our story begins.

Using Elizabeth's own letters, speeches and writings, solo performer Rebecca Vaughan explores the Queen's struggle to reconcile the desires of womanhood with the duties of sovereignty. Who was the woman beneath the crown? Traitor, bastard, heretic or prisoner: call her what you like. The rest is history.

This performance, directed by Guy Masterson, transports you back to the 1600's with superb acting and brilliant content, that will haunt you. If you missed this in May 2012 be sure not to do so this time!

Fringe review: ***** ' a night to remember.'