1536

1536 description

One second you're laughing, the next you're shocked. It's 1536.

Roll back time almost five centuries to 1536, a particularly turbulent time in Tudor history. This critically acclaimed play explores how the royal family's terrible behaviour affected ordinary people, particularly women.

This is Alva Pickett's contemporary re-telling of the story of the notorious Henry 8th and his six wives, told from the perspective of three young girls from an Essex village, when Anne Boleyn was on the throne. As rumours about Henry VIII's conflict with his queen unfold, the women battle with problems of their own. They're seeing frightening parallels between the power struggles in the capital and the way their lives are changing. Can female solidarity survive in a world of misogyny and violence?

The Almeida Theatre's critically acclaimed, award-winning production is directed by Lyndsey Turner, who gave us Chimerica. It won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and Ava Pickett herself won Best Writer for the play at 2025's The Stage Debut Awards. The set and costume designer is Max Jones, the lighting designer is Tim Lutkin, with sound design from Tingying Dong, and movement and intimacy direction from Anna Morrissey.

A masterpiece rich in strong language, raw violence and explicit content, this unique theatre experience will see you laughing out loud one second, nosediving into horror the next. It's powerful stuff. 1536 is a tale that's uncomfortably relevant to our times.

Playing at Ambassadors Theatre

West Street, London, WC2H 9ND GB (venue info)

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