A tender, frank and funny play about a West Country farm struggling to survive the Foot and Mouth pandemic.

South Devon, 2001. Disease ravages the countryside, pyres are lit on the horizon, and dairy herdsman Michael is trapped as his farm becomes a battleground for his business, his heritage, and his friendship with local vet Jeff. Ten years on and the battle scars are as evident on their relationship as they are on the landscape.

Bea Roberts' play And Then Come The Nightjars charts the struggle of one farm amidst a crisis that saw the slaughter of four million animals and the postponement of a General Election.

The play was joint winner of the inaugural Theatre503 Playwriting Award, and premiered at Theatre503, London, in September 2015, before transferring to Bristol Old Vic.



Bea Roberts is a West Country writer whose credits include: And Then Come The Nightjars (Theatre503, London); Infinity Pool; A Modern Retelling of Madame Bovary (Tobacco Factory Theatres/The Bike Shed Theatre/Plymouth Theatre Royal); Scoop (Lyric Hammersmith/UK tour) and Nights with Dolly Henderson (Box of Tricks at the Salisbury Playhouse/The Bike Shed Theatre/Bolton Octagon).

In addition to writing plays, Bea has written and performed sketches, storytelling pieces and stand-up comedy.



'A tender, finely observed portrait of male friendship, and a stirring requiem for the vanishing dignity of rural England'



'A right little cracker, a small but beautifully observed two-hander about a dying way of life and male friendship that spans 12 years... a savagely funny and sad play'