A reminder that The Bloody Ballad will be staged in Theatr SOAR, in Merthyr, in just less than 3 weeks' time.

A toe-tapping, thigh-slappin’, rockin ‘n rollin, blood-curdlin’ journey of murder and mayhem!

Meet Mary – a girl with a dark past who’s had one hell of a week. She’s gonna tell you all about it all; how she fell in love, got betrayed, killed two men, got taken hostage, committed more murder and a spot of arson, and then fell in love all over again. All backed by the poundin’ rhythm of the show’s band, The Missing Fingers. The Brothers Grimm meet Tarantino in this brutal love story set during Memorial Day celebrations in 1950s America, featuring original, live music inspired by blues, rockabilly, and Americana. Part gig, part slasher movie, part road movie, part murder ballad and always a whole lotta fun!

Catch The Bloody Ballad’s first UK tour now! Tickets on sale for performances all over Wales, plus the show’s London debut…

“The most brilliant, dark, and immersive piece of theatre I’ve seen for a long time. David Lynch merged with Nick Cave in a dark alley on crack, set to rocking live performance!” Buzz Magazine

“A weirdly sexy mix of hate, love and loneliness in the American mid-west... highly recommended” Plastik Magazine

“A rock ‘n’ roll horror story; half concert half theatre with wild choreographies and irresistible rockabilly tunes” miniature music press

Actor, writer and composer Lucy Rivers studied at Exeter University and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and in 2012 formed her theatre company Gagglebabble with Hannah McPake. Performance credits include a national tour of Journey to the Riversea (Unicorn), The Borrowers (Sherman Cymru), The Grapes of Wrath and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), The Blood of Others (Arcola), Not I (ChapterArts centre), Missing (Theatr Iolo), Immortal (NoFitState Circus), My Name Is Sue by Dafydd James and Ben Lewis (Total Theatre award 2009) and The Village Social for National Theatre Wales. Lucy also plays violin and sings with a number of bands including Olion Byw and works as a composer and musical director for theatre and television. Composer credits include Y Storm (Theatr Genedleathol Cymru), Grimm Tales (Theatr Iolo), The Selfish Giant, The Happy Prince and The Devoted Friend (a trilogy of Oscar Wilde stories at Sherman Cymru), The Other Woman (Hijinx), Finding Mr Average (Channel 4), five large-scale puppetry productions at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas (Lyric Hammersmith). The Bloody Ballad is the first play she has written for her company Gagglebabble.
Adele Thomas is a theatre and opera director. She has recently finished work as Project Associate on The Passion, lead by actor Michael Sheen and produced by National Theatre Wales. She also led work on the 'One-Year-On' Memory exhibition. She was a recipient of the ITV Theatre Director Scheme, based at Royal & Derngate. Current projects include, A Vampire Story for Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , an Associateship at Shakespeare's Globe on the upcoming Gabriel and is Associate Director on the world première of John Metcalf's new opera, Under Milk Wood in New York. She is a Connections Director for the National Theatre and recently spent time assisting Roger Michell and Dominic Cooke at the Royal Court. Recent productions as a director include the Write Here project at The Traverse, A Cold Spread for Chapter Arts Centre, No Vacancies and Deluge for Sherman Cymru's Cityscape project, A Doll's House and a large-scale, site-specific puppet show The Legend of the Golden Swans (both for Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama) and Under Milk Wood (Royal & Derngate). She has worked as a dramaturge and director of new work, most recently on Gary Owen's Bulletproof for tour in Northern Ireland. With Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, she developed and directed work by numerous Wales based playwrights, winning a Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award. She has developed and directed works for Pentabus, Sgript Cymru, Dirty Protest and The Traverse and in 2008 directed and devised a new, site-specific opera for the Welsh National Opera. Other opera and theatre directing credits include The Good Soul of Szechuan (Young Vic), I Only Wanted to Write a Song that Would Reverberate in Your Heart (Leeds Leider Festival) and Big Hopes by Gary Owen (National Theatre).

The cast includes Tom Cottle, Hannah McPake, Dan Messore, Lucy Rivers and Oliver Wood.

Tom Cottle is a drummer and recently graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, completing a four-year degree course in jazz drumming. Tom is from Swansea and began playing the drums at the age of 14. He has since has gone on to work in a wide range of professional environments, with theatre credits including productions of Chicago, Children of Eden and the RWCMD Musical Theatre Review. Tom is also a regular on the South Wales music scene, playing with many different bands spanning all genres. Work to date includes supporting guitar legend Albert Lee and performing with some of the most highly regarded jazz musicians working in the UK including Phil Robson, Simon Allen, Alan Barnes and Gordon Campbell.

Hannah McPake is an actress, theatre maker, occasional musician and co-founder of Gagglebabble with Lucy Rivers. Recent theatre credits include: King Lear, Macbeth and Oliver Twist with TNT (international tours), My Life In CIA and Heart Of Darkness (Give It A Name), My Name Is Sue (Pleasance Theatre and UK tour), Ill Met By Moonlight (Hijinx), Plum (And Me, Will) and Cinders (Sherman Cymru), Ruby Red Tells Tales, The Flock, Finding Leaves For Soup, The Ugly Truth, The Tempest, Over The Mountain and Grimm Tales (Theatr Iolo), The First Time I Saw Snow (The Belgrade Theatre Coventry), The Ghosts Of Scrooge (Library Theatre Manchester), Don Quixote (Theatre Modo/Citz Glasgow), as well as numerous development projects including, most recently, No Word Of A Lie (National Theatre Wales) and Maudies Rooms (Louise Osborn/Sherman Cymru). TV and Film Includes: Trollied (Sky), Skins (Series 5, E4), as well as numerous short films and training videos.

Dan Messore is a guitarist and composer working across modern and world jazz, folk and pop. His successful debut album out on Babel Label, Indigo Kid, features the sax legend Iain Ballamy, contemporary Gethin Jones on drums and the bass virtuoso Tim Harries (June Tabor, Brian Eno). The album, very positively received in the press, bodes well for his second outing as composer and band leader. Lacuna is a quintet featuring another of Messore's mentors and jazz maestro, the trumpeter Steve Waterman. He has also played with the likes of Ross Stanley, Geoff Simkins, Dave Manington, Martin France, Nia Lynn, James Maddren, George Crowley, Dave Cliff, Josh Arcoleo, Lee Goodall, Trish Clowes, Ryan Trebilcock, Martin France, Tim Harries, Tina May, and Rory Simmons among others. Messore enjoyed a residency in September 2012 at The Vortex with a series of arrangements by British Composers. www.danmessore.com

Ollie Wood trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, National Youth Theatre of Wales and National Youth Music Theatre. Theatre work includes: The Village Social and A Good Night out in The Valleys (National Theatre Wales), Rude (A Ska Musical) and My Life In CIA (Give It A Name Theatre), Waves In The Chat Room and Shadow Of A Boy (Sherman Cymru), The Merchant Of Venice, Twelfth Night and Cymbeline (Wales Theatre Company), Fiddler On The Roof (Aberystwyth Arts Centre), Cinderella (Torch Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (New Wolsey Theatre), The Owl Service (Plymouth Theatre Royal), Electricity (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Romeo And Juliet (English Touring Theatre). Television work includes: Belonging and High Hopes (BBC Wales), The Green Green Grass (BBC) and Tati’s Hotel (ITV). Radio work includes: Running Away With The Hairdresser and Steel Stitches (BBC Radio Wales) and Pavement Stars (BBC Radio 4).

Listings Information

Gagglebabble present
The Bloody Ballad featuring Mary and the Missing Fingers
Supported by Theatr Iolo and the Arts Council of Wales

Words and Music: Lucy Rivers
Director: Adele Thomas
Designer: Lisa Leighton
Lighting Designer: Jane Lalljee
Sound Designer: Dan Lawrence
Creative Associate: Dafydd James
Fight Director: Kev McCurdy
Cast: Tom Cottle, Hannah McPake, Dan Messore, Lucy Rivers and Oliver Wood.

Tour Listings

The Riverfront, Newport
Date & Time: 23rd March, 7.45pm
Box Office: 01633 656757 / www.newport.gov.uk/theriverfront
Tickets: £11, £8 conc

Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil
Date & Time: 28th March, 6.30pm
Box Office: 01685 722176 / theatrsoar.com
Tickets: £6, £4 conc

Bristol Old Vic
Date & Time: 2nd-6th April, 8pm (& 3pm Sat matinee)
Box Office: 0117 987 7877 / www.bristololdvic.org.uk
Tickets: £12, £8 conc

Clwyd Theatr Cymru
Date & Time: 11th-12th April, 8pm
Box Office: 0845 330 3565 / www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk
Tickets: £10, £8 conc, schools/students (5 or more) £7

Volcano, Swansea
Date & Time: 15th-16th April, 8pm
Box Office: Derrick’s Music / 01792 654 226 / www.derricksmusic.co.uk
Tickets: £8.50

Gwyn Hall, Neath
Date & Time: 17th April, 7.30pm
Box Office: 0300 3656677 / www.nptartsandents.co.uk
Tickets: £9, £7 members, £5 students

St Donat’s Arts Centre, Vale of Glamorgan
Date & Time: 19th April, 8pm
Box Office: 01446 799100 / www.stdonats.com
Tickets: £12.50, £10.50 conc

University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Date & Time: 24th April, 7pm
Box Office: 01267 67 6669 / www.ticketsource.co.uk/tsd
Tickets: £6, £4

Torch Theatre, Milford Haven
Date & Time: 25th-26th April, 7.45pm
Box Office: 01646 695 267 / www.torchtheatre.co.uk
Tickets: £12/£10 conc/under 26s £7

Soho Theatre, London
Date & Time: 29th April-4th May, 7.30pm
Box Office: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com
Tickets: £10 Mon + Tues, £15 (£12.50 concs) Weds – Sat