Without Malice or Ill Will

£10 per person. At the Tudor Hall, Bakewell Old House Museum, doors 6.45pm for 7.00pm start.

Written by Ray Castleton. Directed by Jessica Millward.

Saturday 27 July 2024 7:00pm
In the Tudor Hall, Bakewell Old House Museum.

Doors and drinks 6:30pm. The play lasts 50 mins, after which there will be a chance to talk to Ray Castleton.

First a miner, then a copper.

Now he's neither, and he's facing his past.


WITHOUT MALICE OR ILL WILL is a monologue delivered by a retired police officer. He tells us of his early life in a mining community, his relationship with his father, his first job as an NCB apprentice and how his uncle persuaded him to give up mining and join the police force.

We then hear about his career, particularly during the year of the strike and the infamous battle of Orgreave, when he had to endure the divided loyalties between duty to his oath, from which the title of the play comes, his uniform and his friends, family and his old community. The play ends with him reflecting on how the strike impacted, and continues to impact, on him and his community even forty years later.

WINNER OF AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE FOR MALE ACTOR, BUXTON FRINGE 2019

"The writing is superb: nothing is wasted, every line matters.”

“Ray Castleton, both writer and performer, is pitch perfect.”

“The crucial event, the battle of Orgreave, is a masterclass."

(The Fringe Guru. [Review])

A unique experience in the Tudor Hall at Bakewell Old House Museum.

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