And Then Come The Nightjars – new movie directed by Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre’s artistic director plays in the cinema at the theatre

David Fielder and Nigel Hastings in And Then Come the Nightjars which will be screened at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

The Scarborough theatre will be screening And Then Come The Nightjars in its cinema on Friday September 22 and Saturday September 23 following its world premiere at the Chichester International Film Festival last month.

The film was adapted for the screen from the original play by its writer Bea Roberts.

The stage version was the last play to be directed by Paul Robinson at Theatre503, where he was artistic director until he joined the Stephen Joseph Theatre in 2016. It toured to the Scarborough venue in the autumn on that year.

Set against a backdrop of the 2001 foot and m outh outbreak, the multi-award-winning play tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a Devon farmer and the vet who is assigned to cull his precious herd.

In this new film version from Finite Films and TV, Nigel Hastings and David Fielder reprise their hugely successful on-stage roles as Jeff and Michael, with Paul Robinson making his feature film directorial debut.

Paul said: “It was a dream come true when Finite Films approached me to direct this beautiful story.

"We shot it on location in Devon, on a farm which was impacted by foot and mouth, so that made it even more important to get right. It was a terrifying experience but also one which I relished every moment of.

“ I had the most fantastic team – cinematographer John Craine, editor Claire Pringle and composer Simon Slater – who supported me all the way, and I really think we’ve got something quite special. I’m certainly delighted to have captured those incredible performances on screen.

“It was an audience favourite on stage and I’m really hoping for the same response to the film.”

And Then Come the Nightjars can be seen at the Stpehen Joseph at 7.45pm on Friday September 22 and at 2.45pm and 7.45pm on Saturday September September.

The Saturday evening screening will be followed by a question and answer session with Paul Robinson and led by George Cromack.