MDS Presents: Red Herring
JCS Theatre, Tormead School, Guildford, GU1 2JD
Friday 23rd October 2026
“Red Herring” is America’s response to “39 Steps”. 6 actors play 18 roles in a fast-paced story about spies, love, marriage, and nuclear bombs.
It’s 1952. Dwight D. Eisenhower is running for president; America’s about to test the H-bomb. And in this script, Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter just got engaged to a Soviet spy, and a Boston detective needs to find out who dumped a dead guy in the harbor. Her FBI boyfriend is investigating a Russian spy ring, and their two cases collide. Michael Hollinger’s Red Herring cleverly juggles a spy drama, romance, a spoof of film noir and a critique of American politics in the ’50s. As boats and relationships alike spring leaks, one character compares marriage to a dory— a lightweight boat with a flat bottom, which a loving couple must constantly bail in order to stay afloat. This show is appropriate for audiences 14+ with an adult present.
Directed by Steffen Zschaler. Performing at JCS Theatre, Tormead School, Cranley, GU1 2JD.
It’s 1952. Dwight D. Eisenhower is running for president; America’s about to test the H-bomb. And in this script, Senator Joe McCarthy’s daughter just got engaged to a Soviet spy, and a Boston detective needs to find out who dumped a dead guy in the harbor. Her FBI boyfriend is investigating a Russian spy ring, and their two cases collide. Michael Hollinger’s Red Herring cleverly juggles a spy drama, romance, a spoof of film noir and a critique of American politics in the ’50s. As boats and relationships alike spring leaks, one character compares marriage to a dory— a lightweight boat with a flat bottom, which a loving couple must constantly bail in order to stay afloat. This show is appropriate for audiences 14+ with an adult present.
Directed by Steffen Zschaler. Performing at JCS Theatre, Tormead School, Cranley, GU1 2JD.
