Lichfield Garrick production of Michael Morpurgo’s Farm Boy embarks on national tour
Lichfield Garrick Theatre is delighted to announce the full schedule of its upcoming national tour of Michael Morpurgo’s Farm Boy. The production is directed by the Garrick’s Artistic Director, Daniel Buckroyd, who first produced the show in 2010 for a tour that included a run in New York. Buckroyd then brought the play to life once again with a brand-new cast in the Lichfield Garrick Studio in 2024, followed by a successful tour of Staffordshire villages.
Farm Boy is Michael Morpurgo’s sequel to his beloved masterpiece, War Horse. Morpurgo calls it his ‘home story’, set in the cottage where he lives in Devon, on the farm where he lives, and based on real people he has encountered. This heartwarming and compelling narrative pays homage to the generation who fought in the First World War, the world they came home to and how that conflict affected them.
In a recent conversation with Buckroyd, available to view on the Garrick website, Morpurgo spoke about how technology is interrupting relationships between older and younger people nowadays and how grandparents and grandchildren are spending less time sharing stories. Lichfield Garrick hopes that its production of Farm Boy can bring families together to share this story that seems to resonate so strongly across the generations.
The national tour of Farm Boy features the 2024 cast of two: Alan Booty and Jonathan Houlston. Alan Booty once again steps into the role of Grandpa. Alan’s career includes productions at the National Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and performances with a host of regional and touring theatre companies, as well as on TV and film. Roles have ranged from King Lear at Brockley Jack Theatre (2019) to Hermann in a critically acclaimed run of his own play The Loaf, with Pogo Theatre (2023).
Jonathan Houlston returns as Grandson. Jonathan is a recent Royal Birmingham Conservatoire graduate, who has already built up a wealth of stage experience and acclaim having played Sidney Barnsley in The Making of Lucy and Ian in Holes. His screen credits include a memorable guest lead role in BBC’s Doctors and, as a founder of Mad Dragon Theatre Company, he performed in its debut production of his own play Physical Education.
Produced by Lichfield Garrick Theatre, the multi award-winning venue dedicated to bringing the arts and culture to communities across the West Midlands, this tour of Farm Boy is a chance to reach audiences further afield with this beautiful story.
Rehearsals are now underway, and Farm Boy opens at the Tamworth Assembly Rooms on Saturday 22nd March 2025 before touring to 33 venues the length and breadth of the country, with the show’s final performance at the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple on Sunday 1st June 2025. More information on the tour including dates and venues can be found at lichfieldgarrick.com/farmboy.
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