The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has announced the creative team for the world premiere of Haywire – A Not-So-Everyday Story Of How The Archers Was Born, a new comedy by The Archers writer Tim Stimpson.
The production, directed by Joseph O’Malley, will run from 1 September to 11 October 2025, with a national press night on Thursday 4 September.
Joining Stimpson and O’Malley are set and costume designer Alfie Heywood, lighting designer Adam Foley, composer and sound designer Amanda Priestley, and casting directors Emily Jones and Anthony Houghton.
Casting for the production will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Commissioned by the Barn Theatre and licensed by the BBC, Haywire celebrates the 75th anniversary of The Archers, the world’s longest-running continuing drama.
Set in 1950s Birmingham, the play revisits the humble beginnings of the iconic radio show, when producer Godfrey Baseley gathered a cast above a used car showroom to record the very first episode.
Haywire is a heartfelt tribute to the golden age of radio and the enduring legacy of The Archers, blending humour and nostalgia with behind-the-scenes drama.
Tim Stimpson said, “It’s been a long-standing ambition of mine to tell the extraordinary story of how a small team of writers, actors and producers recording above a used car showroom in the centre of post-war Birmingham created what is now the world’s longest running soap – sorry, ‘continuing drama’. The Barn is certainly more salubrious than the BBC studios were back then, but I feel the spirit of creativity and ambition is very much the same. I couldn’t be more delighted to be working with them. Plus, how could a play about The Archers be performed anywhere other than a theatre called the Barn?!”
Jeremy Howe, Editor of The Archers, added, “Last Christmas The Archers writer Tim Stimpson and I went tentatively to the Barn Theatre to pitch Haywire, a comedy that is a love song to the early years of Britain’s best loved drama on Radio 4, The Archers, a show which will be seventy-five years young in January 2026. They bit off our hands to commission it. I am delighted for The Archers to be working in partnership with the Barn Theatre, one of the most dynamic and welcoming theatres in the land, and I cannot wait to be sitting in the front row on the opening night of Tim Stimpson’s Haywire.”
Barn Theatre’s CEO and Artistic Director Iwan Lewis and Executive Director Liam McMullan said, “I’m incredibly excited for the Barn to premiere Haywire as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Archers. As a lifelong listener, it’s thrilling to finally see with our eyes what we’ve listened to for decades. We’re hugely grateful to the BBC for trusting us with one of their most prized assets, and to Tim Stimpson and Jeremy Howe for their belief in the Barn. We’re also thrilled to be back in the rehearsal room with long-time Barn Director Joseph O’Malley, who brings humour and heart and to everything he does.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
