Arthur

“The electric bloody chair! I’m told when that goes wrong they come out sizzling like a bloody steak.”

It’s 1965, and capital punishment has just been abolished in the UK.

In a dingy pub in the north of England, the landlord, Harry, who until recently was known as ‘the second-best hangman in Britain’, holds court.

Surrounded by a motley crew of sycophants and hangers-on, he relishes the celebrity his profession has brought him.

His wife works behind the bar; neither seems to notice that their anxious, awkward teenage daughter is ripe for exploitation.

The arrival of a mysterious stranger from London creates an atmosphere toxic with suspicion, and when Harry’s arch-rival turns up, the clash of egos is both brutal and desperately sad.

This brilliant, funny and wildly off-beat play ((from the acclaimed writer of In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Lonesome West) is a stinging condemnation of state-sanctioned murder delivered with furious, macabre humour.

Winner: 2015 Olivier Award for Best Play

“Tremendous, terrifying, electric.” The Guardian

By Arrangement With ORiGiN^TM Theatrical On Behalf Of Samuel French, A Concord Theatricals Company