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Allesley Silas 

THE ALLESLEY SILAS George Eliot’s Silas Marner
Adapted by Alan Pollock with composition and sound design by Rebecca
Applin Director Nick Walker Designer Abby Clarke
The Allesley Silas was a three month project with the communities of Allesley and
Allesley Park to tell the story of Silas Marner, the weaver of Raveloe, a co-
production with Coventry’s City of Culture Trust. The fictional village of Raveloe
is partly modelled on Allesley Village, a settlement on the outskirts of Coventry.
Here is a message sent by the writer Michael Morpurgo – author of War Horse –
just before the production opened on July 28 th 2021.
"Here is a a story of a man, once an outsider, who in his caring for a child
finds redemption, acceptance, respect and love in his community. Silas
Marner is a story for all times, and for our times more than ever. Alan

Pollock’s adaption for the stage is much anticipated, and will prove an
important milestone in the renaissance of theatre in this country, at a time
when we all realise, and had often forgotten, how much care and truth and
love matters to every one of us."
The Allesley Silas is a story about community. The show was made by professional
artists and by members of the community where the story is set, in a circus big top
at St. John’s Academy Primary School on the Allesley Park estate
Adaptor Alan Pollock said this: “We’ve worked with churches, community
centres, schools, with friends old and new, people who have lived on the estate all
their lives, people who have just arrived. People who have been isolated for a year.
People who are separated from friends and loved ones. People who live elsewhere
and cannot return. When we began this journey three years ago, no-one imagined
the world of July 2021. But here is a glimpse of what a community can do, in
partnership.”

A member of the audience sent this appreciation: “An unexpected gift can often
turn out to be the best sort of gift, as is the case in George Eliot's classic tale of
Silas Marner. Driven out of one community and shunned by another, Marner
lives a solitary life developing only a love for the money he earns from weaving
until the moment a young child is “delivered” to his door. As their love for each
other grows, Marner and his adopted daughter are welcomed by the people of
the village of Raveloe but together they all discover that events are being
shaped by extortion, long-standing secrets and deception.
This stage adaptation, The Allesley Silas, is also an unexpected, but most
welcome, gift. Inspired by his belief that the story is set in Allesley Village (The
Rainbow pub and The Red House, opposite the church, feature as prominently
in the tale as they do in the village today), writer Alan Pollock has reached out
to the local community and invited them to help tell the story.
The result is a delight, showcasing the talents of many people from the local
area; not just on stage but also in the creative and imaginative set design, the
music, the puppetry, the directing and the overall production. A special mention
should go to Adrian Decosta for his portrayal of Silas which opens our eyes to
both the anguish and compassion of the miser whilst also having its humorous
moments.
It would be a travesty if The Allesley Silas is not to be seen again. If it does
reappear (and it surely must), my advice would be to make sure that you are
there as you could well be surprised by the gift that it is.