This autumn, internationally renowned playwright John Godber is bringing his brand new play ‘The Highwayman’ to East Riding Theatre from 25 October – 9 November as part of a celebration of ten years of the theatre in Beverley.
It’s 1769 and Yorkshire’s population has exploded, the races at York are packed, the new theatre in Hull is thriving, and the spa towns are full.
Everyone is flocking north, every ale house is packed with the great and the bad.
Yorkshire is the place to be; a region drunk on making money, social climbing, gambling and gin, but with wealth in abundance, the temptation is great.
The Highwayman is a thrilling theatrical adventure coming from the region where Turpin was caught and Nevison made his great leap. The play has been inspired by the fact that Turpin himself was caught in Welton, and the John Godber Company has worked with the East Riding archive to view historical documents that reaccount that very event.
Godber’s Highwayman, told in the style of his infamous Bouncers, is visceral, venal and very funny, and John is delighted to be working on this new and exciting piece of theatre.
Written and directed by John Godber, and starring a collection of emerging East Yorkshire actors including Beverley’s Jo Patmore (who has performed at the ERT on numerous occasions), Cottingham’s Matheea Ellerby (who made her debut last year in Pocklington Arts Centre’s christmas show), and Hull’s Emilio Encinoso-Gil (most recently seen in John Godber’s ‘Do I Love You?’), history will have never felt more alive, and theft never so attractive.
Tickets are selling fast for The Highwayman at the East Riding Theatre 25 October to 9 November. There is also an access show (lights stay on, socially distanced) at 2:30pm on 7 November.