Kirjahaku

'Kings don't kill their wives alright? It's not – it just don't happen. It doesn't.' Tudor England. A field in Essex. Three women hurry to their childhood meeting place, thirsty for gossip from London. Word spreads of a clash between King Henry VIII and his Queen, Anne Boleyn. Closer to home, another rumour threatens to catch fire. As these women realise the parallels between their ordinary, rural lives and the royal drama taking place at a distance, they are faced with several choices, all of which end in violence. Ava Pickett's play 1536 is a fiendishly smart and funny drama which asks whether female solidarity can survive in a world where barbarism and misogyny are state sanctioned. It was commended by the George Devine Award, won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Lyndsey Turner.

Emma Woodhouse thinks she has it all figured out. Fresh from Oxford University and back in her hometown for the summer, she's ready to do what she does best: sort out everyone else's lives, whether they like it or not. Her closest friend Harriet is a total dating disaster, her father keeps disappearing on mysterious errands, and George Knightley refuses to stop pointing out the flaws in her flawless plans. But Emma knows best... right? Emma is Jane Austen's timeless classic of romance, friendship, and the tricky business of figuring out what truly makes us happy. Ava Pickett's irresistible adaptation joyously pulls the story into the twenty-first century, swapping drawing-room duets for dance-floor fillers. It premiered at Rose Theatre, Kingston upon Thames, in 2025, directed by Christopher Haydon.