Funny, poignant and inventive, The Duke received The Scotsman’s Fringe First Award when it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016 and was made into a radio play for BBC Radio 4 in 2018, achieving ‘Pick of the Week’.
“In 1974 my father invested £750 (£9,800 in today’s money) in a Royal Worcester porcelain figure of The Duke of Wellington on horseback – made to celebrate his victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. He kept the figure we affectionately called The Duke, wrapped in sponge, in a big box, under his bed. After he died in 2001, my mother decided to take the figure out and display it on the table in the bay window. Since 2005 I’ve been working on a film script, which is in the very final stages of development. In the spring of 2024 I sit at my desk waiting for an email that will tell me what I need to do to the script to get it onto the screen. I turn the radio on. I listen to a report about the refugee crisis. My mother calls. She tells me she’s broken The Duke. My mother, my film script and the refugee crisis all need my attention...”
“You won’t find a show with a bigger, better heart”
What’s On Stage
Weaving together the tragi-comic fate of a family heirloom, the quandary of a scriptwriter stretching his integrity and an unfolding disaster as thousands of children flee their homes, The Duke blends fantasy and reality in a playful, thought-provoking show that explores what truly matters in a world of crisis.
Recommended 12+
Running time: 70mins no interval