Embedded Files
Sell out at the Premier at the Hastings Fringe, a second performance was needed.
Heather Leech has written and directed the piece. Heather is returning after the great success of her national tour with her previous play 'Guy Fawke's Mother'. She is a graduate of the Rose Bruford College of Performing Arts, is a drama teacher and examiner. She is a company member of Idolrich Theatre Rotto puppet theatre company and has appeared on film and television.
A mother who lost four sons in 1066.
Three sons killed at the Battle of Hastings, one son branded a traitor. A first born lost on foreign soil.
But these are times of turmoil, where crowns on the head go with swords in the hand. And this mother has lost everything.
Two years later, in Exeter King Harold’s Mother makes her last stand against the might of the new king, William the Bastard. She is also forced to face the consequences of her own actions to accept the overwhelming of the Conqueror. Nothing will ever be the same again. Is nothing all she is left with? Is nothing better than this?
Very talented lady. Go see her.
This is an absolute tour de force.
2025 Performances
19 July Joseph Rowntree Theatre York
7.30 pm
https://www.josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/king-harolds-mother/2796#details
26 July The Kirkgate Centre Cockermouth
5.00pm
https://thekirkgate.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873672552
27 July Consett Arts and Heritage Centre
7.00pm
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/consett-heart-heritage-arts-centre
10 October Cygnet Theatre Exeter
Cygnet Theatre Friars Gate, Exeter, EX2 4AZ
Phone: 01392 277189 www.wegottickets.com/cygnettheatre
24 October Skipton Little Theatre
Evening: 7.30pm.
Booking online: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/skiptonlittletheatre/t-avndeqq
Telephone Bookings: 0333 666 3366 (Booking fees apply)
25 October. Victoria Hall Oakham
8.00pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/king-haroldsmother-tickets-1274952249499?aff=oddtdtcreator,
Photo Andy Clifton
Photo Andy Clifton
Photo Andy Clifton
Comments from the sell out premier performance at Hastings Fringe 25th July 2022
A well- sustained one woman performance bringing the life and thoughts of Danish Gytha to a captured audience. The stars shine bright on this one!
Stunning x 3
A triumph of solo performance. Bravo!
At last she has a voice.
How the battle changed the world, so clear and timeless. I thought throughout about modern mothers, women and societies.
Very good. Should go national!
Strong powerful and heart wrenching performance. Consistent and exceptional acting.
Two years after the Battle of Hastings William is trying to secure his hold on the country using increasingly oppressive means. Harold's family are a threat to William as a potential rallying point. His mother is in Exeter addressing the townsfolk who remain loyal to the Saxon cause knowing that William is going to crush their hope.
Growing up in Hastings, nobody is unaware of the Battle of 1066. The great loss to the local populace and the loss of the Saxon Kingdom. In the 21st century we still live with the consequences. Gytha Thorkelsdottir lost four sons in 1066 including the King of England, she lost everything and had to leave the country. The play is written from the perspective of this woman.
The play is based on true historic events that happened after the Battle of Hastings. The horror of what happened is examined from a feminist perspective through the eyes of a woman who was affected. It plots the downfall of a once powerful woman and politically resonates with the current world stage.
Heather says she was always brought up by her mother being told how awful it was that we lost the Battle of Hastings and as the first town to be taken how badly the people of Hastings suffered. This remains in the folk memory of Hastings people. Having a great interest in history and social trends she finds it more than interesting that the events of the past still resonate with us today and that in many ways we are still suffering.
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