Jennifer Bryden

1974: Against the backdrop of a violent miners strike in their quiet Northumbrian village, a likeable teenage artist falls in love with the new girl from London, but their tempestuous relationship and attempts to escape cause him to betray his family, community and best friends; he becomes dangerously embroiled in the rioting of the strike. With attempts to reconcile them failing, he must choose between his old friends and his new love.

Having inherited her father’s farm, a spirited and feisty young woman – Bathsheba Everdene, finds herself playing mistress in a man’s world. She is pursued by three would-be lovers: the constant shepherd, Gabriel Oak; the obsessive landowner, William Boldwood and the reckless Sergeant Troy. But are any of them a match for the wilful Bathsheba? Based upon one of Hardy’s most popular and enduring novels, Far from the Madding Crowd takes us on a theatrical journey through Hardy country, following a passionate young girl propelled into womanhood by her experiences of love and loss.