The Ballad of Maria Marten

Eastern Angles and Matthew Linley Creative Projects in association with the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
By Beth Flintoff
Directed by Hal Chambers

A thrilling retelling of a real-life murder mystery…

Summer, 1827. In a red barn Maria Marten awaits her lover. A year later her gruesomely murdered body is found in a grain sack, barely identifiable.

Maria’s story sent shockwaves throughout the country. The Red Barn Murder (as it became known) was national news, inspiring writers and film makers down the ages. The sort of gruesome tale that had all the hallmarks of a classic crime drama – a missing body, a country location, a disreputable squire and a village stuck in its age-old traditions.

But in all this hysteria Maria’s own story gets lost. Until now. Hal Chambers and Beth Flintoff’s spine-tingling retelling rediscovers her story, bringing it back to vivid, urgent life.