Director Daniel Buckroyd Designer Juliet Shillingford Lighting Designer Mark Dymock Sound Designer Tom Lishman Musical Director Richard Reeday
Cast includes: Julie Atherton: Jamie Barnard, Jenni Bowden, Jill Cardo, Rachael Gladwin, David Hunter, Oliver Izod, Kit Orton, Matthew Rutherford, Chris Staines, Mark Stobbart and Gary Tushaw
A Mercury Theatre Made in Colchester & Curve Theatre, Leicester Co-Production
“Not to be missed”
The Daily Telegraph
“It dares us to feel pity but commands us to feel respect – simply awesome”
The Stage
Acclaimed for its epic, nostalgic, funny book and rousing, romantic, award-winning score, The Hired Man is arguably the finest new British musical of the last thirty years.
Set against the backdrop of the Cumbrian lakes in the early years of the twentieth century, it tells the timeless, moving story of a young married couple and their struggle to carve a living from the land, just as the traditional rhythms of English country life are being swept away by the gathering storm of war in Europe. It’s haunting, thrilling, stirring stuff.
Now the Mercury Theatre’s new Artistic Director Daniel Buckroyd has reassembled the creative team behind his critically-acclaimed 2008 touring production of this wonderful show, which captivated audiences throughout the UK before transferring to New York.
The Hired Man is based on the much-loved novel by Melvyn Bragg, and brought to life by the heartbreakingly-beautiful music of Howard Goodall, the EMMY, BRIT and BAFTA award-winning composer of stage musicals including the recent West End hit Love Story, and film and TV scores including themes for Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Mr Bean and QI.
Running time approx.
2hrs 30mins including interval
This production contains smoking.
Past Performances
| Thu 21 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Fri 22 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Sat 23 Mar | 2:30pm | |||
| Sat 23 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Mon 25 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Tue 26 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Wed 27 Mar | 7:30pm | Talk Back | ||
| Thu 28 Mar | 2:30pm | |||
| Thu 28 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Sat 30 Mar | 2:30pm | |||
| Sat 30 Mar | 7:30pm | |||
| Tue 2 Apr | 7:30pm | |||
| Wed 3 Apr | 7:30pm | |||
| Thu 4 Apr | 2:30pm | |||
| Thu 4 Apr | 7:30pm | Caption Performance | ||
| Fri 5 Apr | 7:30pm | |||
| Sat 6 Apr | 2:30pm | Audio Description | ||
| Sat 6 Apr | 7:30pm |
Neil D’Arcy Jones, Daily Gazette: “It really is one of the best shows I’ve seen at our theatre in the 12 years I’ve been reviewing. A bit like having the West End on your doorstep – it’s that good.”
David Henshall, East Anglian Daily Times: “It’s not too often you see a standing ovation in a regional theatre, but this got one and it is thoroughly deserved.”
Pat Rudkins, Halstead Gazette: “Howard Goodall’s version of Melvyn Bragg’s Cumbrian drama demands a multi-talented cast and my, does this one deliver the theatrical goods.”
Mercury Theatre
- Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester, CO1 1PT