Coram Boy (stage version)

A heartbreaking tale of orphans, angels, murder and music - dramatised from the Whitbread Award-winning novel set in 18th-century England.

In 18th-century Gloucestershire, the evil Otis Gardner preys on unmarried mothers, promising to take their babies (and their money) to Thomas Coram's hospital for foundling children. Instead, he buries the babies and pockets the loot.

But Otis's downfall is set in train when his half-witted son Meshak falls in love with a young girl, Melissa, and rescues the unwanted son she has had with a disgraced aristocrat. The child is brought up in Coram's hospital, and proves to have inherited the startling musical gifts of his father - gifts that ultimately bring about his father's redemption and a heartbreaking family reunion.

Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Jamila Gavin's award-winning novel, Coram Boy, was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in 2005. It won the Time Out Live Award for Best Play. 

'A rich and almost Gothic drama' Philip Pullman, Guardian

Note for performers: There are three different scores available for this title:

• the score for a few key songs and is included in the back of the printed script
• a simple piano score for the whole play
• a full orchestral score, as used in the original production

Please enquire for more details, including fees for the different scores and the music rights.

The performance fee quoted on this page is for the play without any music.