image: Edward’s Boys’ production of The Malcontent (2019)

Sadly, this event has had to be cancelled due to the current crisis.

On Tuesday 24th March (2-4pm), we are thrilled to be hosting Edward’s Boys, a theatre company from Stratford-upon-Avon, in a performance workshop staging extracts from Ben Jonson’s play Epicoene, or The Silent Woman. The Silent Woman is one of Jonson’s wittiest and most satirical plays, and focuses on a misanthropic, noise-hating old man whose desire for a wife – the ‘silent woman’ of the title – leads to unseen (and very funny) consequences. The Silent Woman was originally performed by a Jacobean boys’ company, so this is an exciting opportunity to see scenes from a play that is rarely performed today, brought to life by a contemporary boys’ company, and directed by Perry Mills, one of the world’s most experienced directors of all-boy productions of Renaissance plays. To find out more about this unique theatre company and their 20-year history, visit their website.

You can read what critics and academics say about them by scrolling to the bottom of their homepage.

The workshop will be held in King’s Hall, Armstrong Building, and will include performances of a selection of scenes from the play accompanied by talks and discussions led by Perry Mills (director of Edward’s Boys), Dr Kate De Rycker (Newcastle University), Dr Emma Whipday (Newcastle University) and Dr Tom Harrison (Newcastle University/Edinburgh University). The event will conclude with a short Q&A session with Edward’s Boys, who will speak about their experience of performing in this play.

Tickets are already on sale and selling fast, but we do hope as many of you as possible take the opportunity to see this production. Tickets can be purchased online through the link below

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kes/the-silent-woman/2020-03-24/d-lmnxamcvavoze

This workshop is funded by the Newcastle University Humanities Research Institute and the School of English Literature, Language, and Linguistics.

Tickets are also available for the following performance dates:

Monday 23^rd March: Durham Cathedral

Wednesday 25^th March: Riddle’s Court, Edinburgh

Thursday 26^th March: Workshop Theatre, Leeds

Sunday 19^th April: Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London