Dead Man's Shoes
by Gemma Head
Touring Yorkshire May 2010
It is the spring of 1737 and notorious highwayman Dick Turpin has fled to Yorkshire with a bounty on his head. He stumbles across The Ferry Inn at Brough, a quiet, friendly establishment where, under the alias of John Palmer, he resides intermittently for the next 2 years. This period of exile in Turpin’s adventurous life is, to this day, something of a mystery. From the history books we know that he traded in the area as a horse dealer until he was apprehended in October 1738 for breaching the peace. Turpin, whose guise was beginning to slip, had inexplicably shot a neighbour’s cockerel in the street, the act of which lead to his capture and later execution at York in 1739. In the transcripts of his trial there are several mentions of a woman to whom Turpin bequeathed his last effects on the day of his execution.
So who is this mysterious figure known simply as ‘the woman at Brough’? And why did Turpin leave her his wedding band and 2 pairs of shoes?
Magical and intriguing, Dead Man’s Shoes reveals the woman behind the mystery, and the man behind the myth. It is a dark and passionate tale of danger, deception and the destructive forces of a fugitive in love.
Tour dates
6th-8th May - The Carriageworks, Leeds
11th-14th May - The Friargate Theatre, York
15th May - The Square Chapel, Halifax
20th May - The Frazer Theatre, Knaresborough
21st May - The Arts Centre, Rotherham
