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Birdcatcher

Directed by Elle While
A new play by Laura Waldren
Fri 05 Feb 2027 - Sat 06 Feb 2027

A Pentabus production in association with Papatango Theatre Company and Middle Child Theatre

Birdcatcher is a darkly comic drama about a teenage girl navigating life inside a doomsday cult. Set in East Yorkshire, the play shines a light on the murky, repressive underworld of religious “high control groups” in the UK - and asks how you find yourself in a world you think is about to end. 

Pentabus is the Nation’s Rural Theatre. This inaugural production is directed by BAFTA winning Artistic Director Elle While (Mother Courage, Richard III Shakespeare’s Globe) and written by rising star and award-winning playwright Laura Waldren, whose first play Some Demon won the 2023 Papatango Prize.

Reviews

‘One of British theatre’s unsung treasures’ - The Guardian on Pentabus

★★★★★ "A work that suggests a major talent … one of my plays of the year" - WhatsOnStage on Some Demon 

★★★★ "An astonishing debut … Ambitious, astute and utterly gripping" - The Telegraph on Some Demon 

Additional Information

  • Age Guidance: 12+
  • Content Warning: The play explores life within a strict religious community, including themes of coercive control and institutional abuse, strong Language, descriptions of sexual harassment, description of accidental death.

 

Accessible Information

  • This show is accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences, with Audio Description integrated into every performance.
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