New Raoul Moat manhunt play announced at London theatre in 2025

Armed police are seen in a field in Rothbury, Northumberland, as they continue the search for Raoul Moat on July 6, 2010
-Credit: (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)


A play about Raoul Moat by North East playwright Robert Icke will be performed at a London theatre next year.

The drama at the Royal Court will explore the search for Newcastle fugitive Raoul Moat in 2010 which was one of the largest manhunts in recent British history. The hunt ended with Moat shooting himself following a six-hour stand-off with armed police in Rothbury, Northumberland. He had shot and injured ex-partner Samantha Stobbart and killed her new partner Chris Brown. Police officer David Rathband was also blinded when Moat shot at him and later took his own life.

The theatre's artistic director David Byrne believes it will be one of the most anticipated and controversial plays of 2025, reports The Guardian. The play, called Manhunt, is due to open in March 2025.

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It is written by Robert Icke, who is from Stockton-on-Tees, and Byrne added that it is an "epic piece of work."

"He’s going to look at every aspect of that story and it’s a very different piece of work for Robert but he’s used to taking on those big stories and this is the modern version of that."

A television drama, ITV’s Hunt for Raoul Moat, aired last year.