Ludlow's Pentabus takes new play Birdcatcher to village halls from All Stretton to Newport

For more than 50 years Pentabus has championed the belief that rural audiences deserve the same exceptional new writing as audiences in cities. This autumn the company is bringing a world premiere straight to Shropshire's village halls.

Birdcatcher, by Laura Waldren, is a funny, dark and sharply observed coming-of-age story about a teenage girl finding her own voice inside an apocalyptic high-control group. The one-woman show is directed by Pentabus's BAFTA-winning artistic director Elle While and produced with Papatango Theatre Company and Hull-based Middle Child Theatre.

Waldren was Pentabus's writer in residence in 2023. Her debut play Some Demon won the 2023 Papatango Prize and was described by The Telegraph as an "astonishing debut play".

The Shropshire dates are All Stretton Village Hall on 28 October, Oswestry Memorial Hall on 29 October and Cosy Hall in Newport on 30 October, the last two presented through rural touring scheme Arts Alive, with Quatt Village Hall on 31 October. The play returns to Ludlow Assembly Rooms on 20 and 21 January before a national tour in 2027.

"Bringing brilliant new writing to rural communities is at the heart of what we do at Pentabus," said Elle While. "There's something really special about sharing a brand-new play with audiences in these intimate spaces."

Accessibility is built in. Audio description is integrated into every performance, and captions are offered at some shows on handheld devices. The play is recommended for ages 12 and over, with parental guidance advised for under-14s.

Pentabus was founded in 1974 by Sue Dunderdale after a study into the lack of professional theatre in rural communities. It spent many years in an old schoolhouse at Bromfield, near Ludlow, and marked its 50th anniversary with a move to Ludlow Assembly Rooms, where it is now a resident company.

It also nurtures new talent through its Young Writers initiative for rural young people, launched under former artistic director Elizabeth Freestone, and today runs workshops and programmes for playwrights and young theatre makers.

For tickets and tour dates, visit pentabus.co.uk.