AN EPIC tale of poets, playwrights, and the perennial problems of playhouses is set to be told in the town next week.
The production, called ‘To Build a Wooden O’, will be appearing at Malvern Theatres from Wednesday (September 9) until next Saturday (September 12).
Set in 1958, the show tells the story of William Shakespeare’s efforts to find a new theatres after the death of James Burbage and his investment at Blackfriars stalling, leaving the bard stuck in the wrong part of town.
Shoreditch is no longer the hotbed of theatrical life it once was. Burbage’s Theatre is closed, and Shakespeare and his company are stuck at the ageing Curtain Theatre, out on a limb. But south of the river business is booming.
Outside of the harsh jurisdiction of the city, Southwarke is full of bear-baiting, cock-fighting, taverns and brothels. Here audiences are cramming into the best theatres England has ever seen – the Rose Theatre and the resplendent new Swan Theatre, both making plays, pennies and pounds a plenty.
Against this backdrop there is an audacious plan with the highest of stakes – literally make or break, life or death.
All whilst Shakespeare is writing his new play Henry V.
Told in flashback by Shakespeare’s eldest daughter Susanna Hall, who looks back through the eyes of her younger self to see how history unfolded, To Build a Wooden O is comedy, tragedy and history all rolled one.
Evening shows will start at 7.30pm while the Saturday matinee will begin at 2.30pm.
Tickets are between £11.76 and £18.48.
Visit malvern-theatres.co.uk or call the box office on 01684 892277 for more.
