Sharp Objects: A Rickards Fairytale (2026)

Sharp Objects: A Rickards Fairytale

By Simon Bolton

The Secret Garden at the Castle Bookshop, Ludlow

August 2026

An affectionate and emotional trip to Ludlow’s famous and much-missed ironmongers store Rickards, which had been a cornerstone of the town’s community from 1864 to 2024. The play was inspired by a visit Simon made to the closed shop and the objects, graffiti, fixtures and fittings that were still in place and casting a melancholy but rich ambience, full of potential stories. Sharp Objects is part fact/ part fantasy and based on some of the real characters, but with some magic realism thrown in. A long serving staff member is shown as both a young employee and as a retired older man looking back at the shop, the characters, the highs, lows and lost opportunities of earlier times. Funny and poignant with stirring songs, it had audiences rapt and led to long after-show discussions with members of the Rickards family, former staff, customers and people new to Ludlow who were in the audience.