Current Season - 2011/12

Torn from their families and bereft of all basic home comforts, dealing with the hardships of farming life and the pressures of war, four women from different walks of life, sign up to join the Women’s Land Army during World War II, determined to work endless backbreaking hours on farms across the country to do their bit. But with work clothes full of mice and toilet rolls falling from the sky, will our four Lilies survive? 

Iron by Rona Munro, directed by Iain Howland
Production dates: 19th, 20th and 21st January 2012

Josie is visiting her mother for the first time in 15 years. Neither of them quite knows what to expect, neither of them quite knows what they want, but only Josie can walk away; for Fay is in prison for life.

This intense and compelling emotional drama brings us a mother and daughter trying to break through the barriers of time, memory and punishment which separate them. Between them lies the fact of murder; a murder which Josie cannot remember and Fay has always tried to forget. Uncovering the memories they share is more dangerous than either of them can imagine.

Thomas More, the outstanding intellect of his time, becomes Chancellor of England and a favourite of the King, until the moment comes for the Royal circle to decide where they stand. Friends become enemies, families crack under pressure and men and women have to be true to themselves, their conscience and their souls. 

This classic play, based on the well documented historical events sparked off by Henry VIII's decision to divorce Catharine of Aragon, is also a great psychological drama. Tense and absorbing, yet amusing and entertaining, this battle of wills, amidst political manoeuvring, hinges on the point where a man is no longer able to compromise and is prepared to lose all, to gain himself.

Set in Vienna in 1777, a young girl, a gifted but blind pianist, is sent to Doctor Mesmer in the hope that his unorthodox methods will cure her. Using his “animal-magnetism”, which he believes will restore her physical and mental harmony, he installs her in his household, and sets to work.

But, other more established doctors are uneasy of his methods and jealous of the attention his work receives, and Viennese society sees scandal and impropriety everywhere. As the whispering gets louder, the girl’s parents confront Mesmer. But, what is more important to them, her sight or her talent? This unusual and intriguing play prompts the question of how willpower impacts on a patient’s wellbeing and whether a person is ‘cured’ from without or within.