Pentabus Presents: Birdcatcher
A new play by Laura Waldren
Directed by Elle While
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.
Birdcatcher is a Pentabus production in association with Papatango Theatre Company and Middle Child Theatre
‘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
Access
Suitable for ages 12+
(AD) This show is accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences, with Audio Description
integrated into every performance.
Suitable for ages 12+
(AD) This show is accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences, with Audio Description
integrated into every performance.
Content Guidance
- 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
This is a new play, we will review content guidance through the rehearsal process.