GUY Fawkes is set to star in an explosive new comedy at York Theatre Royal this autumn.

The brand new drama by award-winning comedy writer David Reed about York’s infamous traitor is said to be a 'devilishly dangerous mix of Monty Python & Blackadder' – and sure to be a barrel of laughs as Guy loses the plot.

York writer David has written 10 historical comedies for BBC Radio Four but Guy Fawkes is his first stage play.

He said that growing up in York, 'the presence of this man Guy Fawkes' was always there.

"So when I was thinking of ideas for a possible comedy, the idea of a famous failure seemed to be right for parody or lampooning," he said.

“I always thought there was a lack of understanding of the man himself. When I went looking for books about him I found there wasn’t much written about him. 

"So I thought ‘I will invent it’ - the story of a man who conceived the most terrible act and consequently fell flat on his face."

He said he felt there was something 'uniquely British' about the way the country celebrated failure. 

"I think it’s something everyone enjoys – seeing someone stand tall and proud, and then falling down," he said.

Guy, who was born and educated in York, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who were involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which explosives were placed in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords.

The authorities were tipped off and searched Westminster Palace on November 5, and found Fawkes guarding the gunpowder.

He was questioned and tortured, and confessed to wanting to blow up the House of Lords, and sentenced to be executed. 

The failure of the Gunpowder Plot has since been commemorated as Guy Fawkes Night, when his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire and fireworks let off.

A theatre spokesman said David Reed began his career with multi-award winning comedy trio The Penny Dreadfuls, with whom he wrote and starred in five Edinburgh Fringe shows and two series of The Brothers Faversham for the BBC. 

"His most recent radio play was Severus, co-written with Paterson Joseph and about the African Roman Emperor who lived in York," he said.

"David’s television acting roles have included playing comedy legend Peter Cook in Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me, Endeavour and Father Brown.

"A talented improviser, he has performed on BBC Two's Fast & Loose, appeared in the Olivier Award winning stage show Showstopper: The Improvised Musical."

He said casting for Guy Fawkes would be announced later this month and the play could be seen at York Theatre Royal from October 28 to November 12.

*For tickets, call the box office on 01904 623568 or go to yorktheatreroyal.co.uk