The Ballad of Maria Marten by Beth Flintoff - on tour from 8 February 2022. 4****. William Russell.

Maria Marten who was murdered in the red barn is one of theatre’s great heroines and her story is well told in this production with an all female cast which embarks this month of a national tour. When it was originally staged this version by Beth Flintoff directed by Hal Chambers got four star reviews for the way it had made the celebrated melodrama relevant to the problems women face today. Flintoff tells the story from Maria’s point of view but not as a murder victim more as a woman and how she lived and dealt with the society surrounding her. So don’t expect lots of violence on stage in this particular account of a murder most foul that happened in the red barn.
Tour dates
8-9 February – Colchester Mercury; 15-19 February - Wilton’s Music hall, London; 22-23 February -Malvern Theatres; 25-26 February - Ustinov Studio, Bath; 1-2 March – Marina Theatre, Lowestoft; 4-5 March – The Haymarket, Basingstoke; 6-12 March – Northcott Theatre, Exeter; 17-19 March – New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; 22 – 26 March – Coliseum Theatre, Oldham; 29 March -2 April – Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.
Tickets can be obtained from the theatre box offices – just google them.