“A great man once said the first duty of a storyteller is to tell a story, and I believe in that wholeheartedly.”
Thursday 09 April - Saturday 11 April 2026
TBC
“A great man once said, ‘The first duty of a storyteller is to tell a story,’ and I believe in that wholeheartedly.”
Katurian just wants to write stories; he’s above the anti-totalitarian subtext of other, lesser, writers. Sure, a worrying amount of his plots involve children being gruesomely murdered… but that’s just artistic licence. At least, it was until children started being killed in exactly the same ways as in his stories. Under pressure from two disgruntled police officers who just want to get round to the execution, Katurian soon realises that his stories are not as fictional as he thought they were.
Runtime: 135 minutes (incl. a 15-min interval)
Latecomers allowed within 15 minutes of show start.
The age rating for The Pillowman is 18+.
Language: Contains some severe adult language (18+).
Content: May address adult content, including drug use, violence and suicide. May contain direct references to sexuality and mild sexual situations (13+).
Violence: Show contains graphic violence, and may be disturbing for some adults. Not appropriate for children (18+).
Content Warnings:
Abuse
Child abuse (including sexual abuse)
Self-harm / suicide
Mental illness
Death/dying
Threat/horror
Violence and blood
Mentions of sexual assault, racism and hateful language towards religious groups.
Allusions to animal cruelty/death and sexualised content.
Technical Warnings:
*Prolonged/Excessive use of sudden/loud noises
*Brief use of persistent loud/high-pitched noises
*Brief use of flashing lights
Actor (Ariel) Tai Remus Elliot
Actor (Child) Sonia Ostrovsky
Actor (Father) Oliver Mason
Actor (Katurian) Nik Pivovarsky
Actor (Maria) Ellie Donoghue
Actor (Michal) Ben Black
Actor (Tupolski) Georgia Thomas
Co-Director Rishi Bhardwaj
Co-Director Scarlett Guang
Co-Producer Hanae Della Nave
Co-Producer Peter Lally
Costume Manager James Harvey
Creative Charlie Girdwood
Lighting Designer Audrey Nicholls
Set Manager Amaya Gray
Stage Manager Beth Everett
Tech Manager / Sound Designer Alex Kerr