John Godber returns to Peterborough with The Highwayman

One of Britain’s most performed playwrights, John Godber, returns to Peterborough for the first time since before the pandemic this September, bringing his latest theatrical adventure, The Highwayman, to the Key Theatre from 28–30 September.

Best known for smash-hit plays including Bouncers, Teechers and Do I Love You?, John Godber has been a major force in British theatre for more than four decades. Now, after several years away from Peterborough, Godber and his company return to the city with a very different kind of comedy.

Set in Yorkshire in 1769, The Highwayman transports audiences to a world of packed ale houses, new money, social climbing, gambling and gin. Yorkshire is booming – but where there is wealth, there is temptation, and one ambitious young rogue is determined to take his share.

Part romantic adventure, part farcical history lesson and packed with Godber’s trademark humour, physicality and sharp observations about class, ambition and society, The Highwayman asks whether Britain really has changed all that much in the last 250 years.

Following its critically acclaimed premiere, the production returns in 2026 after receiving nominations for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the 2025 BroadwayWorld UK Awards.

Godber’s return to Peterborough marks his first visit to the city since before COVID, and the playwright will be at the Key Theatre with the company as the production arrives for its three-night run.

The show follows the story of John Swift, an ambitious young man attempting to make his fortune in a world where the gap between rich and poor is stark and getting ahead can mean breaking more than a few rules along the way.

Fast, physical and irreverent, the production combines comedy, romance, danger and original music in a theatrical romp through Georgian Britain.

History has never felt so modern – and theft never more attractive.

THE HIGHWAYMAN

Key Theatre, Peterborough
Monday 28 – Wednesday 30 September 2026