A new adaptation of Benjamin Myers’s best-selling novel The Offing has opened at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre in a co-production with Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne.
This coming-of age story proved hugely popular on its publication in 2019, when it was also a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick.
It tells the story of 16-year-old Robert Appleyard who, in a Britain still reeling from World War II, sets out to walk from his home in Durham to Scarborough, where he hopes to find work.
But he never gets there: up the coast, at Robin Hood’s Bay, a chance encounter with the bohemian and eccentric Dulcie Piper leads to a lifelong friendship. Director Paul Robinson says: “I first came across The Offing when I heard Benjamin Myers talking to Jo Whiley on the BBC Radio 2 Book Club back in 2019.
“By the end of the interview, I’d contacted Benjamin’s agent: I knew it would be perfect for our stage – wise, lyrically beautiful and, as an added bonus, it’s set just up the road in Robin Hood’s Bay.”
The Offing is in the round at the SJT until October 30, then runs at Live Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne from Nov 3-27.
More information here