Two years on from a TV drama being made about the killer and his victims, a Raoul Moat play will make its debut in London next month, with a Peaky Blinders star in the lead role.
It was in the summer of 2010 that Newcastle city centre doorman Moat, upon his release from prison, went to the home of ex girlfriend Samantha Stobbart in Birtley and gunned down her new boyfriend Christopher Brown, before also shooting at Samantha and leaving her seriously injured. Having fled the scene, Moat struck again, following through on threats against Northumbria Police, by spotting a patrol car close to the A1 and firing at PC David Rathband who was in the driver’s seat.
Moat’s attack left the officer with catastrophic, life changing injuries, which he never recovered from and took his own life a few years later. After killing one person and leaving two in hospital, Moat headed to the Northumberland village of Rothbury, where he managed to evade capture for a number of days, as a huge search was launched to try and track him down.
The week long manhunt came to a dramatic conclusion on a riverbank, with a stand-off that ended in gunfire, with Moat pronounced dead by the time he arrived at Newcastle General Hospital and his death later ruled as suicide.
ITV landed in hot water with some viewers over airing its Manhunt drama in 2023, with the broadcaster branded ‘insensitive’ for making the three part series. And now the story of the search for the notorious killer and his life is bound for London, with a new play, also called Manhunt being confirmed for a run at the prestigious Royal Court Theatre.
The play, directed by acclaimed writer Robert Icke, will open at the end of March, with former Peaky Blinders and Emmerdale star Samuel Edward Cook in the role of Moat and joined by a cast that also includes Sally Messham, who played Samantha in the ITV drama and former Coronation Street actress and Sunday for Sammy stalwart Angela Lonsdale.
The production runs in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court from March 28 to April 3 with tickets on sale now.
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