The Black Stuff

Rubber - a miraculous substance! But until Charles Goodyear came along in the 1830s, it was sticky and useless. In a race against his rivals and battling incredible odds, Charles turned natural rubber into a product that revolutionised industries around the world. But it took everything he had. Meanwhile, his wife Clarissa faced the age-old struggle of women in this patriarchal society - the fight to have her voice heard.

Through theatre, art, humour, and song, “The Black Stuff” tells the dark true story of how a bankrupt button-maker became one of the most important inventors of all time – and the terrible price he and his family paid for it.