• Runtime: 120 minutes

• Theatre

by Jessica Swale

“We won’t allow it. It is – unsuitable. The King has a nation to command. You are a distraction.”

London, 1660. After years of civil war and Puritan rule, England is ruled by a king once again – a king with a passion for the arts, fine living, theatre and women.

The merry monarch’s latest infatuation is Nell Gwynn, a young girl from the brothels of Cheapside who has found fame as an actress on the London stage. As lover to the King, Nell must contend with the jealous rivalry of Charles’ other mistresses, the disapproval of his courtiers, the exasperation of her theatre colleagues and the pressures of life in the public gaze.

Jessica Swale’s dazzling period comedy premiered aptly at London’s Globe Theatre in 2015. It paints a vivid portrait of the Restoration court and theatre, and of a woman with some very modern ideas about love, sex and status.

This amateur production appears by arrangement with Nick Hern books with the original music by Nigel Hess.

Contains strong language and sexual themes