by Michael Morpurgo, Simon Reade

Full-Length Play, Drama / 2w, 6m

The foothills of the French Pyrenees during the Second World War. Jo Lalande’s village is occupied by German soldiers guarding the frontier to neutral Spain. While he is tending his family’s flock of sheep (his father is absent, a prisoner of war), Jo follows a bear cub into the woods, where he spies a stranger. Following him to a remote hill-farm belonging to the reclusive widow, Madame Horcada, Jo learns their dangerous secret: together they smuggle Jewish children, refugees from the war and the Holocaust, escaping over the border and into Spain. All the while, hoping against hope, they wait for their lost daughter and granddaughter, Anya. Sworn to secrecy, Jo risks everything – until the very German soldier he has befriended looks set to betray him.

Michael Morpurgo’s war story celebrates the triumph of a spirited community who stubbornly resist their invading aggressor. This new adaptation marks his tenth collaboration with Simon Reade over the past 20 years, after The Mozart Question (Bristol Old Vic); Toro! Toro! (Salisbury Playhouse); Twist of Gold (Polka); On Angel Wings (NoMasters); the critically acclaimed An Elephant in the Garden (Poonamallee Productions); the Private Peaceful film (Goldcrest) and other stage plays (West End/Off-Broadway/Dublin/world tours).

Waiting for Anya was commissioned by the Barn Theatre, Cirencester and received its world premiere in March 2023.

by Jane Austen, Andrew Davies

Full-Length Play, Comedy / 13w, 7m

This  delightful stage adaptation of Austen’s most popular novel was written by Andrew Davies, author of the iconic 1995 BBC TV adaptation.

In Georgian England, when it was customary for only male heirs to inherit an estate, Mr and Mrs Bennet live in some comfort, but as they have five daughters and no son, it is imperative that the girls marry well.

Hopes rise when Mr Bingley, a rich bachelor, rents the nearby Netherfield estate. He attends the local ball with his sister and his friend Mr Darcy. He is immediately attracted to Jane, the eldest Bennet sister, and she to him. But Mr Darcy seems haughty and aloof, and declines to dance with Elizabeth, (our heroine) the spirited second Bennet daughter. She dislikes him on sight and fails to notice that he gradually becomes more and more attracted by her wit and intelligence.

Mr Collins, a distant cousin who stands to inherit the Bennet estate, comes to visit, with a view to marrying one of the Bennet sisters. He proposes to Elizabeth, who rejects him. Jane and Mr Bingley become fond of each other and Elizabeth’s secret adoration for Mr Darcy becomes apparent. The love between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy blossoms, despite his prejudice of her low social connections.