15 Oct 2026
An unexplained painting, a haunted inn and three siblings with a rather unusual business plan are at the heart of The Nag’s Head, a dark comedy coming to St Albans this weekend.
A mysterious painting hidden on the inside of a cupboard door in a Shrewsbury pub has inspired The Nag’s Head, a darkly comic play possessing Trestle Arts Base on Saturday (October 17).
Written by Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Felix Grainger the play takes inspiration from a real painting discovered in The Nag’s Head pub during a ghost tour of Shrewsbury. The image reportedly depicts a naked man holding a trident, standing on a strange fish-like creature.
Little is known about who painted it, when it was created or how it came to be in the pub, but local stories tell of terrible things happening to guests who once stayed in the room where it hangs.
For the writers, the painting proved an irresistible starting point for a theatrical tale of family tensions, ghost stories and a business venture that takes a decidedly sinister turn.
The play follows three estranged siblings reunited at their father’s funeral, where they discover they have inherited the family pub. Hoping to revive its fortunes, they decide to turn the mysterious painting and its unsettling history into a draw for customers.
But as the stories surrounding the image begin to take hold, the siblings’ relationships start to unravel, with increasingly terrifying consequences.
Gabriel said: “It’s exciting to bring The Nag’s Head to St Albans. Having grown up in the city, it feels particularly special to bring this show home and share it with the community I grew up in.
“With support from Arts Council England, we created The Nag’s Head with a real desire to put regional stories and communities centre stage, telling stories for the people and places they come from.
“The play began with a real mystery and a wonderfully unsettling ghost story, and we’ve had a lot of fun exploring what happens when family tensions collide with something that might be far more frightening than anyone expected.”
Make It Beautiful Theatre Company previously collaborated with OVO on Gawain and the Green Knight at the Roman Theatre Open Air Festival 2024. Directed by Kelly Ann Stewart, the production went on to be reworked for a London run at Park Theatre in 2025.
Now, The Nag’s Head arrives at Trestle Arts Base, bringing its blend of supernatural suspense and dark comedy to local audiences, all in celebration of the independent British pub. Tickets available here.
