LUCK PENNY THEATRE COMPANY
THE HIRED MAN
The Hired Man
Amid the rugged beauty of the Cumbrian fells, newly-weds John and Emily Tallentire set out on life's adventure together, determined to carve a living from the land.
Based on a novel by Melvyn Bragg with a score from Howard Goodall, The Hired Man has been described as one of the finest British musicals of the last 50 years.
Soaring choral and folk melodies weave the stirring, everyman story of the Tallentires across an epic period of British history – from the end of the 19th Century to the aftermath of the Great War. It’s a tale of passion, loss, betrayal and the everyday struggle to survive - its appeal is universal.
During its original run in the mid 1980s, The Hired Man won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Musical, earned four Olivier nominations, and was voted Best Musical of the Year by the critics of Time Out, The Guardian, Punch & The Stage.
The venue for this new production, the beautiful St James's Church, Hampton Hill, provides the perfect in-the-round stage for the ancient English traditions and slice of history celebrated in this wonderful show.
"This is without doubt one of the most beautiful pieces of British Musical Theatre"
Jonathan Baz
St James's Church, Hampton Hill
Wed 4 - Sat 7 November, 2026
7.30pm
“Oh to be a hired man!”
Folk musicals are currently much in vogue, with shows like Hadestown, Benjamin Button and Ballad Lines, delighting audiences and critics alike. Their authentic and elemental tone a far cry from glossy Broadway razzamatazz. But some forty years ago, aged just 26, Howard Goodall ploughed a lonely furrow in the genre, blending the choral and folk traditions of rural England in The Hired Man.
“From matins bells to midnight we walk tall”
With lyrics and book by Melvyn Bragg (based on his novel of the same name), it’s an epic story of ordinary working-class families, buffeted by social and political upheavals at the turn of the 20th Century with little control over their lives. From harsh labour on the Cumbrian fells, to mining coal under the Irish Sea and eventually to the horror of Flanders Fields, they moved inexorably from one battle to another, bound together by an enduring sense of community and a belief in a better tomorrow.
“A life of risks, of dice and chance”
The ancient culture of the lakeland fells - the village fetes, the hiring fairs, the drinking songs, the whippets and the Westmorland wrestling - is another binding force, infusing lives with humour and colour. Through laughter, tears and bloody-minded perseverance, this is a story that stirs the soul.
"We’ll find the promised land”
Community is at the heart of this show. A place where people find encouragement and comfort in shared passions and pain - where they come together to tell stories and find meaning. And I can think of no better stage for it, than a beautiful English church, at the heart of its own community, with deep roots in our shared history.
Nigel Cole, Director
About the authors
Howard Goodall - music
Howard Goodall CBE is one of Britain’s most celebrated composers, known for his choral music, stage musicals, and iconic film and television scores, as well as for his work as a music historian and broadcaster. He has written some of the most recognisable British TV themes of the past 40 years, including Mr Bean, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, QI and The Vicar of Dibley. He scored both Mr Bean films and Johnny English Strikes Back, and won a Primetime EMMY for his score to the HBO film Into the Storm (2011).
Goodall’s choral music is widely performed internationally and frequently commissioned for national ceremonies. His works include Eternal Light: A Requiem, which has received over 700 performances worldwide and won a Classical BRIT Award, Enchanted Voices, Every Purpose Under the Heaven, Invictus: A Passion, Never to Forget, and Unconditional Love.
His music has featured in major events including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympic Games, and First World War centenary commemorations.His stage musicals include The Hired Man, Love Story and Bend It Like Beckham. For over 30 years he has written and presented award-winning television series on music history, and his books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He was appointed CBE in 2011 for services to music education.
Melvyn Bragg - book and lyrics
Melvyn Bragg was born in 1939 in Wigton, Cumbria, and educated at the local grammar school before studying at Wadham College, Oxford. He joined the BBC in 1961 and published his first novel, For Want of a Nail, in 1965. During this period he became a director on Huw Wheldon’s arts programme Monitor and worked closely with Ken Russell on The Debussy Film, The Music Lovers starring Glenda Jackson, and Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave. He also wrote screenplays for Jesus Christ Superstar and Play Dirty starring Michael Caine. After leaving the BBC, Bragg continued a distinguished literary career. His novels include The Hired Man (Time Life Silver PEN Award), The Soldier’s Return (WH Smith Literary Award), Without a City Wall (John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), A Place in England, Son of War, Crossing the Lines (all Booker Prize nominees), and Now Is the Time (Parliamentary Book Award, 2016).
Many of his novels are set in Cumbria, and The Hired Man was later adapted into a successful musical by Howard Goodall. His non-fiction works include The Adventure of English, The Impact of the King James Bible, and biographies of Richard Burton and William Tyndale.In 1977 he founded The South Bank Show and has presented In Our Time on BBC Radio 4 since 1998. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society and the British Academy, was made a life peer in 1998, and appointed Companion of Honour in 2017.
About Luck Penny
We are a trio of South West London-based creatives producing powerful and compelling theatre, that's wowed audiences, critics and awards-juries for over a decade.
Some of our greatest hits:
2012: Privates on Parade - Hampton Hill Theatre, TTC.
2013: La Cage Aux Folles - Hampton Hill Theatre, BROS TC.
2014: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice - Hampton Hill Theatre, TTC.
2016: Breaking the Code - Hampton Hill Theatre, TTC.
2017: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Minack Theatre, BROS TC.
2018: Pink Mist - Hampton Hill Theatre, TTC.
2023: Spamalot - Hampton Hill Theatre, TTC
2025: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, TTC
Winners of the following Arts Richmond awards.
Best Production of a Play: 2016, 2019 and 2025
Best Production of a Musical: 2024