A SHOCKING tale of 20th century sin, revenge and redemption comes to the Courtyard stage on Tuesday in the form of cult classic Get Carter.

The story, which centres on the dark criminal underworld of a Northern steel town, was made famous by the 1971 film of the same name, which starred Michael Caine in one of his defining roles.

The story is translated for stage in a production by Redshift Theatre Company, which has been described as "tough-talking, hard-hitting, cinematic theatre" by The Stage.

The drama focuses on the character of Jack Carter, a London gangster who returns to his hometown to investigate his brother's death.

The tale is a roller-coaster ride of loud, bruising theatre, which pulls us into the seedy twilight of British gangland culture; a landscape of gaudy casinos and cheap hotels flourishing on corruption, bribery and sexual abuse.

Not for the faint hearted, Get Carter is based on Ted Lewis' book - Jack's Return Home.

It offers an enthralling and compulsive take on a spiteful post-deferential, post-summer-of-love Britain and with a reflective soundtrack, featuring tracks from The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and many more.

Get Carter has been directed by Jonathan Holloway, the founder of Redshift Theatre Company.

"I do not come from a literary household. I grew up watching movies on TV and reading American comic versions of the great classics," he said.

"Get Carter was part of a now-almost forgotten genre of provocative, tremendously well-written, lewd and violent popular novels published post-censorship. It's in my DNA".

The company is well-known for their cinematic style and contemporary literary adaptations and the Courtyard is excited about welcoming such a renowned company to Herefordshire.

See Get Carter on Tuesday at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on 0870 1122330.