THE MOTH to Make London Premiere at Finborough Theatre
Paul Herzberg's play, directed by Jake Murray, stars Micky Cochrane and Faz Singhateh.
Following a Northern tour, Paul Herzberg’s new play, The Moth, receives its London premiere at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre for a strictly limited four-week season, playing 27 October to 21 November 2026.
A chance meeting on a train between John, a Black British journalist, and Marius, a White South African ex-soldier, sets in motion an escalating chain of events that reshapes their lives over the next thirty years – as John withholds forgiveness and Marius becomes increasingly obsessed with seeking it.
Finally, before the nation's television cameras, they face each other to confront the past and lay bare their conflicting truths. Inspired by a true story, The Moth is a gripping new play that speaks directly to our times – a psychological thriller of memory, race, war, trauma, the legacy of Apartheid and the limits of forgiveness…
Originally developed from a ten-minute video monologue which has since had over 30,000 views, it was selected for 26 festivals across the world, winning the Kwanzaa Film Festival Best Monologue Award in New York City. The stage version took the North by storm on tour in 2025, playing to packed houses at venues including Live Theatre Newcastle, the Lowry Salford and Shakespeare North in Liverpool, it received rave reviews, and won actor Micky Cochrane the award for Best Performance at the North-East Culture Theatre Awards for his portrayal of Marius.
The Moth includes a brief cameo by Bridgerton star, Adjoa Andoh as the voice of John Josana’s mother, Joy.
Playwright Paul Herzberg drew on his South African background and forced conscription into the army during the Angolan Border War, leaving the country thereafter. His lived experience of Apartheid and its reverberations to the present day drive the narrative. “The Moth looks at racism through the eyes of two men in the present, who are forced to confront their troubled past after a chance encounter. It explores the nature of forgiveness: What it really is; Who has the right to confer it; Whether it has any meaning in the context of human progress.”
Director Jake Murray says, “I was astonished at the response to the play as it toured northern England. Audiences were hungry to be pulled into the world of these two men and wanted to talk about how it related to the present state of our world. It often incited fiery and stimulating discussion after a performance. I’m thrilled we’re now sharing it with London audiences.”
Playwright Paul Herzberg began acting at South Africa’s first multi-racial theatre, The Space, before coming to the UK in 1976. He has been an actor and writer for nearly fifty years, with plays and short stories produced by BBC Radio 4, productions of his plays around the world, and an award-winning film, Almost Heaven. This is his fourth play about military experience. His previous play The Dead Wait was produced at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester and the Park Theatre, it was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, nominated for 3 Manchester Evening News Awards including winning the award for Best Actor, and has been adapted for BBC Radio 4, ABC Australia and WDR Germany. As an actor, he has been seen at the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, in the West End and on television and feature films including Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (Mermaid Theatre), Dancing At Lughnasa (National Theatre of Ireland - Abbey Theatre), Gratiano in The Merchant Of Venice (Chichester Festival Theatre) and Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice (Arcola Theatre), I.D. (Almeida Theatre), The Taming Of The Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Doctor’s Dilemma (National Theatre), and Oslo (Harold Pinter Theatre). Film includes Cry Freedom and The Teacher. Television includes The Honourable Woman, Black Earth Rising, EastEnders, The Life And Loves Of A She Devil, Smiley’s People, and Silo.
Director Jake Murray is an award-winning theatre director and Artistic Director of Durham-based Elysium Theatre Company which tours new plays and classics across the North. He was Associate Artistic Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester for seven years, where he directed the young Andrew Garfield in Romeo and Juliet. In recent years, he has diversified into film, audio plays and online work. His multi-award-winning Covid 19 Monologues conceived during lockdown have been seen internationally. His short film, The Visit, for Mancmade Productions has won awards in the UK, US and Spain.
