"One of the most fascinating and unexplored episodes of WWII"

The touring production of wartime drama Farm Hall heads to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford from Tuesday to Saturday, October 10-14, following its London opening earlier this year.

Spokeswoman Nancy Hannigan said: “Katherine Moar's debut play, set in the country house where some of Germany's finest scientific minds were held captive during the final days of World War Two, gained outstanding reviews when it opened at Jermyn Street Theatre, directed by Stephen Unwin.

“Inspired by true events, Farm Hall dramatises the thrilling story of Operation Epsilon, one of the most fascinating and unexplored episodes of World War Two. It is summer 1945: Hitler is dead, but war in the Pacific rages on. The British government has detained six of Germany’s most gifted nuclear scientists – including three Nobel Prize winners – at Farm Hall, a stately home in Cambridgeshire. They entertain themselves with some redacted newspapers, a broken piano and a copy of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit. But their tranquil summer is shattered by the news that the Americans have succeeded where the Germans failed. The United States has not only built an atom bomb, it has used one against Japan. Every reaction to the unfolding events was captured thanks to the British clandestine surveillance of their guests. Unbeknownst to the scientists, Farm Hall hides sinister secrets.”

Playwright Katherine Moar explains: “I first heard about Farm Hall in Professor Kathryn Olesko’s brilliant class on nuclear scientists and dissent at Georgetown University. I read the transcripts from the British recordings all in one evening. I was hooked. These extremely intelligent, bored, funny, morally compromised men were plucked out of history at a pivotal moment and locked away for seven months. Their conversations ranged from the totally inane to the staggeringly significant. The first thing that struck me was that this could make a great play.”

The ensemble cast bringing this true story to life includes William Chubb (The Sandman, Quiz, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell), who plays the role of Von Laue, Alan Cox (Say My Name, Mrs Dalloway, Housewife, 49) as Heisenberg, Daniel Boyd (On Chesil Beach, Tiger House) as von Weizsäcker, Forbes Masson (EastEnders, Catastrophe) as Hahn, Julius D’Silva (The Crown, The Ten Commandments), as Diebner and George Jones (The Mousetrap, EastEnders) as Bagge.

Playwright Katherine Moar studied history at the University of Edinburgh and Darwin College, Cambridge. She is currently studying for a PhD at King’s College London. Farm Hall is her first play.

Award-winning director Stephen Unwin, has directed almost 100 professional productions and worked with many well-established actors and singers as well as developing the careers of many younger ones.