The Ballad of Maria Marten – The Lowry
Theatre is at its best when it can retell a story in a new dynamic, a new setting or with a new spin.
All of the above are true of Beth Flintoff’s adaptation; The Ballad of Maria Marten which tells the true story of a harrowing true crime which took place in 1827. The Red Barn Murder which occurred in Suffolk saw Maria Marten shot and then buried for over a year before her body was discovered, but this play doesn’t focus on just her death but more a celebration of her life and it’s incredibly captivating as a result.
Directed by Hal Chambers, this play doesn’t feel like a murder mystery nor does it feel like a dark crime drama, it’s inviting and makes a statement that Maria Marten’s murder is not her defining life moment; she had a life - she loved, she laughed, and it’s a clever rew...