Edith reexamines a trial that split the nation at The Lowry

Award-winning verbatim theatre company Crowded Room (The Listening Room) explores the story of a court trial that split the nation at The Lowry this February.

The production revisits the case of 28-year-old Edith Thompson who was put on trial for inciting her husband’s murder, Percy, who was stabbed by 20-year-old Frederick Bywaters as he walked home.

A series of love letters led the prosecution to claim Edith had told Bywaters to do it, and a jury eventually sentenced both Edith and Bywaters to death. The guilty verdict triggered mass media attention and a petition signed by almost one million people.

At the time, the judge famously explained to the room: “You should not forget that you are in a Court of justice trying a vulgar and common crime. You are not listening to a play from the stalls of a theatre.”

100 years later, using real court transcripts, Edith examines the case of one of the last women to be executed in the UK and whether that verdict would have been different today.

Edith comes to The Lowry on Wed 1 Feb and runs until Sat 4 Feb. Tickets are on sale now, you can grab yours using the button below.