THE KNEEBONE CADILLAC
Thought she’d gone for good, did ’ee?
Not likely.
Summer 2024, The Kneebone Cadillac tore round United Downs Raceway and sold out fast. Engines growlin’. Siblings squabblin’. A busted old Cadillac centre stage like she owned the place.
Not everyone got in…So we’re bringin’ her back.
“A very funny, sweary reminder that nowhere else in the world does theatre like Cornwall” – Lee Trewhela, Cornwall Live
The hilarious comedy-drama, written by Carl Grose and directed by Kyla Goodey returns from 10th July 2026, for three weeks only. Wildworks is remounting the big-hearted, laugh-out-loud, ‘very sweary’ story of the hard-up Kneebone family, Slick, Dwight and Maddy, who have a mighty fall-out when their scrapyard-owning dad Jed shocks everyone by leaving his cherished 1958 Cadillac Eldorado to his only daughter.
“What a show! Surprising, distinct and very funny. I went twice, once wasn’t enough! Don’t miss it” – Mike Shepherd- Kneehigh
Rather than cash in the prized but broken-down auto – which may or may not have once belonged to Elvis Presley – feisty Maddy is determined to get it back on the road and take on all-comers in the United Downs Boneshaker stock car race.
Ancient family feuds do not die quickly and soon Maddy’s dream of success in a male-dominated world sets the community on a collision course for chaos.
“An absolute banger of a show!”
The Kneebone Cadillac’s wickedly funny Cornish dialogue, the troublemaking cast of characters and gritty post-industrial locale illuminate a side of Cornwall many miles from the picture-postcard cliché of the county.
For Cornwall-born playwright Carl Grose, setting the drama at the raceway that fired his imagination when he first visited as a boy of ten with his dad, is a dream come true.
Carl said: “I’ve always been obsessed with the area, that slightly stranger Cornwall, and have such vivid memories of the raceway because my dad used to take me out there. I loved that world – noisy and smelly, with all that grease and burning petrol.
With The Kneebone Cadillac being staged there, it’s going full circle for me from when I was an excited little kid.”
Director Kyla Goodey is assembling a stellar line-up of locally based acting and production talents and working closely with the raceway owners to bring back The Kneebone Cadillac in the most dramatic setting inside an arena which has hosted stock car racing for more than 50 years.
She said: “Comedy is my first love and what Carl has written is bang up to date. It’s about a young woman’s ambition to succeed in a man’s world and to find a way to see it through to the end.”
“It’s a fast and furious Cornish show with brilliant dialogue and tons of dramatic twists and turns. It does feel like life right now could do with some light relief and there is plenty of light relief in The Kneebone Cadillac.”
It’s funny. It’s fierce. It’s full of proper Cornish grit.
If you were there last time, you’ll know the feeling.
If you weren’t, now’s yer chance.
Patron and Solidarity tickets now on sale. Community and pay-what-you-can go on sale May 15th. Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know.
Radical ticket pricing for The Kneebone Cadillac
We make our work for everyone. Everyone is invited, but we know not everyone can afford the cost of theatre tickets.
So we’re really proud to announce that for The Kneebone Cadillac, we’re doing things differently. We’re launching radical pricing.
Tickets start at £1.
No questions asked. No proof needed.
From there, you choose what feels right for you, and for our work.
Some will pay more, because they can.
Some will pay less, because they need to.
Together, that’s what makes this possible.
Choose your ticket
Invest in Wildworks, support others to attend and enable the development of our work. Your support helps us make new work and open it to others.
Solidarity £40
A generous gesture. Your ticket helps someone else attend.
Standard £25
Pays the real cost of production and covers what it takes to bring this work to life.
Community £10
Because everyone belongs here. The cost of these tickets are supported by patron and solidarity tickets
Pay What You Decide from £1
No questions asked. No eligibility checks. Radical trust is part of how this works.
BUY TICKETS – PATRON & SOLIDARITY NOW LIVE
100% of ticket income goes directly towards the costs of making our work and enabling us to develop and present new work.
Wildworks is a registered charity. We are privileged to receive annual grants from Arts Council England and Cornwall Council which mostly cover our core overheads.
Wildworks is committed to being a fair employer and to paying all those who work for us the
Real Living Wage or more. We are members of the Independent Theatre Council and a Fair Work Approved theatre company. Wildworks are committed to best practices in the theatre industry and to providing a reliable and fair working environment, adhering to collective agreements with the trade unions Equity, Bectu and the Writers Guild of Great Britain.
We are committed to sustainability – read our Sustainability Vision and Policy. Our productions are produced in line with Theatre Green Book guidance.
Accessible Performances
BSL interpreted performances: Friday 18 July (matinee and evening performances)
Audio described performances: Saturday 19 July (matinee and evening performances)
Accessibility Information: This is an outdoor seated production. Disabled parking and access to a disabled toilet is available on site. Get in touch with us at info@wildworks.org.uk if you’re a wheel chair user to reserve a seating spot with a good view of the stage, or if you would like a more detailed breakdown of access at the raceway.
Site opens at 7pm
Food and Drink: Food and drink will be available to purchase from 7pm before the show and during the interval.
📸 Steve Tanner
