Social upheaval. Dreams, and defeat. And the power of language in the mouths of those that saw the light.

Caryl Churchill’s 1976 classic Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, set during the English Civil War, tells of the ordinary people who went into battle for the soul of the nation. Incendiary, pulsing with ideas and poetically-heightened speech, it speaks of the revolution that never happened, and some ghosts it left behind.

Way back in ancient times (2020) when the theatres were first closed, we brought some actors into the building to simply read plays. This one shone like a searchlight – it’s a brilliant piece of writing, and it’s brilliant in its vision too. If you think our stages could do with more ideas and ambition, come and spend a night with this visionary, illuminating play. And see Wayside Bride too – the experience of seeing them on the same set will make both plays all the more haunting and rich. We couldn’t do them in 2021 – but this pair has been marinating nicely. – Eamon