Cayley’s Flight: Born in Paradise but lived in purgatory.

 

‘Cayley’s Flight’ by local writer Michelle Watts is a lively, Austenesque play celebrating Scarborough’s sometimes forgotten local hero and ‘the Father of Aeronautics’ - Sir George Cayley. 

 

It is 1853. As Brompton Dale prepares itself for the first manned flight, inventor Sir George Cayley is emotionally torn between his irascible, highly-strung wife Lady Sarah – and his close friend and cousin Miss Phil. On a day of high tension, when a life’s dream might finally take flight, Sir George reflects on a journey of discovery, love and loss. Was it right to find an escape from his domineering mother? Did marrying Lady Sarah, and not his cousin Miss Phil, put him on the path to purgatory?

 

From his birth at Paradise in Scarborough’s old town to his country estate in Brompton, join us as we celebrate the life and loves of Sir George Cayley, with all its ups and downs. 

 

Written by Michelle Watts, directed by Paul Beck, dramaturgy by Alison Watt and music by John Pattison, the experienced local cast includes Mark Wadsworth, Josephine Pimm, Chris Fairchild, Kate Woodward-Hay, Terri-Ann Prendergast, Karen Camp, Caitlin Pitts, Paul Spencer and Jason Mullen.