Overview

***** "It’s beautifully written and the story is a fascinating one... Max Stafford-Clark’s production sweeps us from one encounter to another"  What's On Stage

Celebrated children’s writer Hans Christian Andersen arrives, unannounced, for a stay at Gad’s Hill Place in the Kent marshes – home to Charles Dickens and his large, charismatic family.

To the lonely and eccentric guest, the members of Dickens’ household seem to live a life of unreachable bliss. But with his broken English, Andersen doesn’t at first see the storms brewing within the family: undeclared passions, a son about to go to India, and a growing strangeness at the heart of Dickens’ marriage.

Andersen’s English is a haunting new play, rich in characters and touched with a wistful humour.

Sebastian Barry’s novel The Secret Scripture won the 2008 Costa prize, and he has been twice nominated for the Booker prize. His plays include the international hit The Steward of Christendom, Our Lady of Sligo and Hinterland.

Max Stafford-Clark directs a cast including Niamh Cusack (Heartbeat, Always and Everyone), David Rintoul (Pride and Prejudice) and Danny Sapani (Out of Joint’s world touring Macbeth).