Chesterfield attraction: "Tragedy, comedy and passion walk hand in hand in this unforgettable piece of drama"
A new stage adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic story Far From The Madding Crowd will be performed in Chesterfield.
The production by Conn Artists features live period music, authentic Victorian costumes and is touring to the Winding Wheel Theatre on March 5 and 6, 2025.
Capricious, independent and beautiful Bathsheba Everdene inherits and manages her uncle’s farm. She is courted by three infatuated suitors: an honest, loyal and capable shepherd; a womanising and charming Sergeant; and a lonely, wealthy farmer. Who will she choose? If any of them? She plays with all their hearts to devastating and dramatic effect.
Nick Young, former RSC and Connaught Theatre director, is directing Far From The Madding Crowd in which five actors bring Hardy’s rural world to life. He said: “A great novel, great characters and lots of dramatic action. The heroine is, in many ways, a very contemporary woman. Strong, independent, attractive but flawed by her vanity. Tragedy, comedy and passion walk hand in hand in this unforgettable piece of drama, performed in Conn Artists unique style."
The cast is led by Abi Casson Thompson in the role of Bathsheba. Abi has worked on a range of theatre and film projects and has a masters degree in psychology.
Ross Muir, producer and actor, said: “Far from the Madding Crowd is an exciting return to previous literary stage adaptations that we have produced in the past, like George Eliot’s Silas Marner and Hilaire Belloc’s The Four Men, which I feel are the heart and soul of Conn Artists live theatre work. Our adaptation will be fast moving and inventive with interlinking folk songs. Far from the Madding Crowd will appeal not only to fans of Thomas Hardy but to anyone who simply wants to come to the theatre and enjoy a gripping romantic story.”
Tickets cost £25.50, with discounts available for groups (10+) and schools, to see Conn Artists’ production. Book online at www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk
Far From The Madding Crowd was written by Hardy in 1873 and was serialised in the Cornhill Magazine the following year before it was published in a two-volume edition in 1874.