The Badgers (1980) was the very first play and the start of MED Theatre. The play was written by Mark Beeson and rehearsed on a pile of rocks under Easdon Tor in the parish of Manaton during the Autumn of 1980.

The plot centred around two archaeologists who fall down a mine shaft on Dartmoor and find themselves in a badgers’ sett. The badgers are about to be gassed as part of the Ministry’s culling policy to prevent the spread of bovine TB. 

It was directed by Heather Todd who had previously acted with Medium Fayre, working alongside Mark Beeson. The participants came from surrounding farms and villages and on the day of the performance found themselves faced with torrential rain. They adjourned to a nearby barn as a wet weather backup and delivered two performances. The Badgers was also performed a month later in a barn at Poundsgate at the invitation of Peter Richardson of The Comic Strip.