The Daughter of Time
Charing Cross Theatre
- Opens: Thursday, 17 July 2025 -
Booking until: Friday, 12 September 2025 - Running time: 2hr 45min. Incl. 1 Interval.
The Daughter of Time description
1990's number one CWA crime novel of all time: don't miss The Daughter of Time.
Roll back time to 1951, shortly before her death, and author Josephine Tey had just written The Daughter of Time, a detective novel like no other. It remains unique, telling the story of a modern police officer's investigation into the crimes laid at the feet of King Richard the Third of England. In 1990, it was awarded the number one spot in the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time list from the British Crime Writers' Association, a significant accolade.
This thrilling new play is based on the novel, blending history with myth, disaster, comedy and romance. The action is set in 1950, where Inspector Alan Grant is languishing in hospital, bored stiff. He decides to investigate the alleged crimes of Richard the Third, including the murder of the two little Princes in the Tower. His mission kicks off as a 'cold case' distraction, but things soon get serious when he engages with a couple of dodgy Shakespearean actors, two unusually opinionated nurses, a cynical Deputy Inspector and a young American historian, all in an effort to discover the truth. Will his considerable detective skills see him resolving the mysteries of his own heart? Is King Richard an innocent victim of Tudor propaganda? Was he really an ugly, cruel hunchback or much-maligned?
The play explores how history is built in ways that don't always mirror the truth, despite the facts. Two radio adaptations precede the play, one in 1952 and the second thirty years later in 1982 on BBC Radio 4, dramatised by Neville Teller. Think Guy M. Townsend's To Prove a Villain and Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novel The Wench is Dead and you get the picture!
The action is written by M. Kilburg Reedy and directed by Jenny Eastop. The Set and Costume Designer is Bob Sterrett, the Lighting Designer is Oliver McNally, and the Composer is Haddon Kime. The Sound Designer is Andrew Johnson. Hair, Wigs, and Makeup come from Diana Estrada Hudson and the casting from Neil Rutherford. Production Manager James Anderton completes the picture. The show is produced by Excelsior Entertainment, Mercurius Theatre, and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.
Buy The Daughter of Time tickets to immerse yourself in an unusually compelling detective novel with one of history's greatest scandals at its core.
