Monstering The Rocketman: Fringe first-winning hit comes to Exeter

Coming to Exeter Barnfield on March 21st, acclaimed story-teller Henry Naylor takes us back to the 1980s – in his multi-award-winning hit solo show.

Based on the true story of Britain’s biggest ever-libel case, Monstering the Rocketman tells of the tabloid tussle which changed Britain, leading to the more liberal society we know today.

Premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025, the show won one of the most prestigious awards on the indie theatre scene – the Scotsman Fringe First - and received a staggering 21 four- and five-star reviews. The sell-out smash success even led Scottish Field to describe Henry Naylor as ‘one of our best new playwrights’ and now comes to XXXXX for one night only.

1987. The tabloids are at their most powerful. The Sun newspaper has as many as 12 million readers… and they’ve just falsely accused Elton John of participating in sex orgies with teenage rent boys.

Everyone in the rockstar’s circle is telling him to ignore the story; insisting that the papers are too powerful and that the story will be ‘chip paper’ in the morning. But famously, Elton replies: ‘They can call me a fat old talentless poof, but they mustn’t tell lies about me.’

He issues 17 writs against the paper and proves he was 4,000 miles away when the orgy took place.

But The Sun won’t back down. They relentlessly harrass the star for months, in a campaign which drives the star to the brink of suicide.

In the end – does the Sun go down on Elton? Or does he remain ‘still standing’?

Based on an extraordinary, shocking and often hilarious true story, the show features punch-ups, gangsters, bugged phone calls, a £10million divorce suit, Princess Diana, the Vice Squad and a pair of Devil Dogs.

It’s a story for today, as the Press once again face huge payouts for intrusion and misconduct. At a time of spin, redactions and ‘fake news’ - we need a reliable source of the Truth: a press we can trust. This play takes us back to when it all started to go wrong – when newspapers began to put Sales before The Truth.

Since 2014, Naylor has written nine plays, which have won 56 international awards and nominations, including the top prizes at the Edinburgh, Adelaide, Hollywood, IFES New York and Prague Fringes.

He’s one of a handful of writers who’ve won the Fringe First four times, and his work has been performed in five continents and translated into seventeen languages.

A former Lead Writer on legendary satirical puppet show Spitting Image., Naylor has written for many celebrated TV and radio show, including Smith & Jones, Lenny Henry, Alistair MacGowan, Headcases and Dead Ringers. As a performer, he shared a double-act with Andy Parsons; hosting nine series of Parsons & Naylor’s Pull-Out Sections on BBC Radio 2.

‘UTTERLY, UTTERLY, BRILLIANT.’ ★★★★★ THEATRE EXTRA

WORLD’S BIGGEST STAR battles WORLD’S TOUGHEST TABLOID in EPIC eighties’ clash!!