WILDGOOSE Theatre will present the York premiere of Jez Butterworth’s psychological drama The River at Friargate Theatre, Friargate, from April 26 to 29.

"The River is a tight little play that came sandwiched between Butterworth’s giant classics Jerusalem and The Ferryman," says the York company's director, Andy Love.

"On a moonless night in August, when the sea trout are ready to run upstream to spawn, a man brings his new girlfriend to the remote cabin, very much like his uncle has done before him. But is she the first woman he’s bought here? If not, what happened to the others…and will she be the last?

"As with all Butterworth’s plays, he demonstrates his mastery of dialogue and he leads us down a dark and meandering but highly engaging story of truths, half truths and lies. The only problem is we are never sure which is which."

Love's cast comprises George Stagnell as The Man, Claire Morley as The Woman and Anna Rogers as The Other Woman. "The absence of named characters usually act to me as a warning of upcoming pretentiousness when reading a script, but it's vital to the plot that we don’t know their names here," says the director.

"I love Butterworth’s work and we don’t get to see it much here in York. This play fits ideally with Wildgoose’s aim to bring great writing to York’s stages that will be new and fresh. The trick with this play was to get the right cast together and I was lucky when my ideal cast all read the play and loved it. We’ve had a read-through and will begin rehearsing in earnest in March. We're presently assembling a production team, and if anyone is keen to get involved we’d love to hear from them via wildgoosetheatre.com or drama@wildgoosetheatre.com."

The York premiere will be followed by a one-off performance at Seven Arts, Harrogate Road, Chapel Allerton, Leeds on May 3. Tickets for York can be booked on 01904 613000 or at ridinglights.org; Leeds, 0113 262 6777 or sevenleeds.co.uk