THE MOTH, a new play by Paul Herzberg, has received its world premiere on a tour of Northern England to exceptional reviews. Based on a true story, told in the long shadow of South Africa’s Apartheid regime and the horrors of the Angolan Border War, THE MOTH is a timely and essential thriller that confronts our attitude towards race, war, the legacy of history, the power of our actions, the quest for redemption and the limits of forgiveness, bringing these themes right into the present day.
The play stars Faz Singhateh and Mickey Cochrane, and features the voice of BRIDGERTON star Adjoa Andoh. The director is Jake Murray, and the play is produced by Jake Murray, Hannah Ellis Ryan and Andy Jordan for Elysium Theatre Company. The show’s current 25-stop tour of the North of England, will culminate at Greater Manchester’s iconic venue The Lowry on 12 April.
‘Paul Herzberg has crafted a piece of theatre which is as much about personal reckoning as it is historical accountability – the result being a harrowing yet beautifully deep human piece of theatre’ wrote The Palatinate in a five-star review from the Gala Theatre in Durham. ‘Herzberg has created something that is simultaneously deeply personal and overwhelmingly universal. This is theatre at its most powerful, most harrowing, and importantly – at its most necessary.’
Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, called the play ‘inspiring’ and powerful’ following its two nights at The Live Theatre, Newcastle; Northern Arts Review said that ‘A sure sign of a remarkable and powerful play is that it stays with you, long after the curtain call. Like the moth, this play will linger and flutter in your mind’, while North East Theatre Guide added that the play was ‘thoroughly worthwhile… A production that leaves the audience with plenty of food for thought.’
‘I am moved and encouraged by the remarkably positive response we are having on the tour – audiences and reviewers seem to be engaging deeply with the play and its themes,’ said Paul in response to the play’s opening weeks. ‘It is so exciting to see a highly intelligent, thought-provoking new play engage, move and thrill audiences across the country,’ added producer Andy Jordan.
Paul has also written about the play, and his own experiences as a conscripted soldier in the Angolan Border War, for the Anti-Apartheid Legacy. A list of the upcoming tour dates, and links to buy tickets, can be found below. The script of the play is published by Methuen, and available now.
About THE MOTH
“You think you know me. You don’t. So it’s time to talk.”
1997: a chance meeting on a train between two men, John, a black British activist and journalist and Marius, a white South African ex-soldier, sets in motion a chain of events that will change their lives forever.
2025: the two men gather to share their story…
Upcoming Tour Dates
Wednesday 26 March: The Witham, Barnard Castle (post-show Q&A with director and cast)
Thursday 27 March: East Stanley Working Man’s Club, Stanley
Friday 28 – Saturday 29 March: Alnwick Playhouse
Tuesday 1 April: Harrogate Theatre
Wednesday 2 April: Hull Truck, Hull
Thursday 3 April: Stokesley Community Library
Friday 4 April: Bishop Auckland Town Hall
Saturday 5 April: Newton-le-Willows Village Hall
Tuesday 8 April: The Athenaeum, Sunderland
Wednesday 9 April: The Friarage Theatre, Yarm
Thursday 10 – Saturday 12 April: The Lowry, Salford (11th April: post-show Q&A with director and cast)
About Paul Herzberg
Paul cut his teeth as an actor at South Africa’s first multiracial theatre, The Space. He left for the UK in 1976 following conscription into the Angolan border war, a time he’s drawn on for THE SONG OF MY FATHER (BBC Radio 4), SWEET LIKE SUGA (Old Red Lion & Centaur Montreal), his award-winning play, THE DEAD WAIT, and THE MOTH. Paul completed a post-graduate diploma at LAMDA and began working as an actor and writer in the UK in 1978.
His work as a writer encompasses theatre, radio, TV and film with several nominations and awards. THE DEAD WAIT was produced at the Market Theatre, Royal Exchange and Park Theatre and was adapted for BBC Radio 4, ABC Australia, and WDR Germany. The play was shortlisted for The Verity Bargate Award and nominated for three Manchester Evening News Awards: best play, production and actor — in which category it won. In 2000 Paul was one of two writers commissioned for The Metropolis Kabarett at The National Theatre.
His screenplay ANNA’S STORY won a place on the Brit List in 2018.
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