2026 Tour dates
The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy
April
25th April 2026 - Market Theatre, Ledbury
26th April 2026 - Neuadd Dyfi, Aberdovey
May
1st May 2026 - Riverhead, Louth
2nd May 2026 - Kirk Theatre, Pickering
7th and 8th - Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury
9th - Sutton Village Hall, Sutton
13th- Old Courthouse, Antrim
14th - Roe Valley Arts, Limavady
15th - Ramor and Cavan Town Hall
16th - Down Arts Centre, Down
19th - The Garage, Monaghan
20th - Friars Gate Theatre
21st - St John's Theatre, Listowel
22nd - Market Place Theatre, Armagh
23rd - Island Arts, Lisburn
June
4th and 5th - Riverhouse Barn, Walton on Thames
11th, 12th and 13th - Everyman, Cheltenham
18th and 19th - Ellen Terry Barn, Smallhythe
20th and 21st - NT Ellen Terry Barn, Smallhythe
28th, 29th and 30th - Swallow Theatre, Whithorn
July
2nd and 3rd - Dorchester Arts Centre, Dorchester
4th - Lapford Mill, Devon
8th - Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford
5th - Castle Hill, Filleigh, Devon
9th - Guildhall Arts Centre - Grantham
10th - North Coast Arts, Bude
11th - North Coast Arts, Clovelly
12th - North Coast Arts, Tintagel
MEET THE CAST
Beth Organ
William Witt
Beth is back for 2026! Having trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Her Theatre credits include: Noser: The Start-Up Musical (Edinburgh Fringe); Julie Blinks (Pleasance Theatre); What We May Be: The Many Faces of Shakespeare’s Women (Awkward Tree); The Widow in the Water Garden (North Country Theatre); Oranges and Elephants (Hackney Empire); Brassed Off (#1 UK Tour, York Theatre Royal/The Touring Consortium).
Film includes: What’s A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Job Like This?, Unfolded Past and Notes of an Insomniac.
Beth is a company member of Acaprov: The Improvised Acapella Musical.
William is joining the Hotbuckle team for our upcoming tour of Thomas Hardy's - The Return of the Native
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William is an actor and writer trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (MA Acting). His theatre credits include:
Break the Silence (UK Tour, Collisions Theatre. Faustus: That Damned Woman (Crescent Theatre). Tempest and Lady Windermere's Fan with Aunty Jen Productions.
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In 2024 he created and performed his original one-man show wheel's turnin' but the hamster's dead at Birmingham Conservatoire; the production will play internationally later this year. Most recently, William appeared on tour with Dino Tales: Jurassic Rescue and as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk at Tamworth Assembly Rooms.
Adrian Preater
Adrian formed Hotbuckle in 2006 with his wife, Gemma Aston.
He has since written, adapted and directed all of Hotbuckle's shows to date as well as performing in them. Adrian trained at Bretton Hall and the Central School of Speech and Drama before appearing in such films as 'Gosford Park', 'Love Actually', Branagh's 'Magic Flute' and 'Enigma'.
Adrian has worked with many and varied theatre companies including Major Road, Oddsocks, London Bubble, Boxclever and Richmond's Orange Tree.
Joanna Purslow
​Jo joined Hotbuckle in 2017 and has performed in all productions since then.
Other work includes; Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well, Beatrice in A View from the Bridge, Kate in She Stoops to Conquer, Judith Bliss in Hay Fever, Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, Mistress Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and May in Accrington Pals – all for Shropshire Drama Company. Annemarie Lobbenberg in Silhouette for Love Lee Productions. Shakespeare’s Will at Hamlet’s Elsinore Castle, International Shakespeare 400 Conference April 2016, followed by a full UK premiere.
Her other one-woman show Ursula Queen of the Jungle, transferred from Edinburgh to the remote Naga communities of North East India.
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy is a tragic novel set on the wild, brooding landscape of Egdon Heath in rural England.
It follows the intertwined lives of several characters, especially Clym Yeobright, a man who returns from Paris with idealistic dreams, and Eustacia Vye, a passionate, restless woman who longs to escape the bleak heath for a more exciting life. Their marriage becomes strained as their desires clash—Clym seeks simplicity and purpose at home, while Eustacia craves adventure and escape.
The novel explores themes of fate, unfulfilled desire, social constraints, and the power of nature, with Egdon Heath almost acting like a character itself—shaping and influencing the destinies of those who live on it.
Ultimately, the story is tragic, showing how miscommunication and conflicting ambitions lead to suffering and loss.