Interest area: culture

1975. Millgarth Incident Room. The epicentre of the biggest manhunt in British history, for one of the most notorious serial killers: the Yorkshire Ripper.

With public and political pressure mounting, hundreds of officers must work around the clock to end one man’s reign of terror in this gripping retelling of true events.

Following on from the sell-out success of ‘Twelfth Night’ at Liverpool’s Royal Court, Old Fruit Jar Productions bring Olivia Hirst and David Byrne’s ‘beautifully crafted’ (The Guardian) play to the beating heart of Liverpool.

The Incident Room is a forensic investigation behind the scenes of the case that nearly broke the British police force. This meticulously researched play recalls the events of the five-year investigation from the eponymous Incident Room and presents the facts in a dynamic way – giving the audience a sense of the high-octane chase for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Protect your loved ains fae the claws o a beast

Under the buzzing lights of a psychiatric hospital in Aberdeenshire in 1897, Mina Murray recounts her encounters with the most terrifying of beasts: Dracula. A throng of patients listen with bated breath as they are transported to a world where immortality and ultimate power is possible, even for women – but with terrible consequences…

Not for the faint- hearted, Morna Pearson’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale is filled with her trademark humour and taste for the strange and grotesque. This breathtaking gothic production transposes the action to Scotland amid the wild beauty of the landscapes of the northeast which originally inspired the novel. With an all-women and non-binary ensemble cast we witness the addiction, intoxication, and empowerment of Mina.

Miss this contemporary re-telling at your peril…

Age Recommendation:14+
Content warning: Contains scenes of violence, blood and frightening moments.
Presented by National Theatre of Scotland and Aberdeen Performing Arts in association with Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Adapted by Lemn Sissay OBE. Directed by Scott Graham.

One morning Gregor Samsa awakes to find himself changed. To those around him he is dangerous, untouchable vermin. Worse than that, he is a burden.

A word said, an action out of place, the opening of old wounds, none of which can be undone. Until now Gregor has woken every morning, quietly left to take the same train, and worked to pay off the family debt. But that world explodes on this morning of brutal metamorphosis.

In their first commission since 2019, Frantic Assembly and Lemn Sissay OBE collaborate on this thrilling new adaptation of Metamorphosis. Combining the fluidity and lyricism of Lemn Sissay’s adaptation and Frantic’s uncompromising physicality, this promises to be an unmissable retelling of Franz Kafka’s shocking tale of cruelty and kindness; a visceral and vital depiction of humans struggling within a system that crushes them under its heel.

Commissioned and Produced by Frantic Assembly, in a co-production with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Curve, MAST Mayflower Studios and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre.