Gunter (NHB Modern Plays)

1604. A small village outside Oxford. Two boys have been murdered by local brute Brian Gunter at a football match and their mum wants justice. But Brian is also the richest and most powerful man in the village, and has an ego too fragile to tolerate public slander... A nasty feud begins, and when Brian's daughter Anne starts demonstrating strange afflictions, an allegation is made: she has been bewitched. Impassioned and highly theatrical, Dirty Hare's award-winning production of Gunter, co-created by Lydia Higman, Julia Grogan and Rachel Lemon, tells a true story of deception, witchcraft and football. The play premiered at Summerhall at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023, where it was awarded a Scotsman Fringe First Award, Pick of the Fringe from both Playbill and Lyn Gardner, whilst Dirty Hare were named one of The Stage's Fringe Five list of breakout theatremakers. It transferred to the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2024. 'An incantation, working dark magic into a small room' - Financial Times 'Atmospheric retelling of a famous witch trial... there's a sensuousness to the storytelling... appealingly energetic' - The Stage 'Electrifying... equally intense and playful' - Playbill

Lydia Higman is a historian, writer and musician. She was a co-creator and cast member of Gunter (Dirty Hare, Edinburgh Fringe 2023; Royal Court Theatre, 2024). She has consulted on a range of theatre projects and history books, and is the main songwriter for folk band Iris & Steel.