English Music Festival
Purcell!
Supported by a grant from Continuo Foundation
★★★★ “this is one show that deserves greater exposure…” - The Times
★★★★ “… the way the drama allowed a remarkable cross section of Purcell’s music to be performed was quite striking.” - Planet Hugill
A play with music by award-winning writer Clare Norburn and BAFTA-nominated BBC director Nicholas Renton (Mrs Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, Musketeers, Lewis).
1695: in his final illness, composer Henry Purcell (Niall Ashdown) is suffering from feverish dream-like hallucinations in which the past, present and fantasy collide, and his songs take on a life of their own. His bedroom is transformed into a theatre, and Purcell revisits his past, including his childhood memories of the Great Fire of London and his early romance with his wife.
Interwoven into the drama are assorted instrumental and vocal compositions by Purcell: from bawdy theatre ballads and joyful celebrations of love to slow airs, a ‘mad song’, and numbers from his semi-operas.
Niall Ashdown (Creating Carmen, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Comedy Store Players) stars as Purcell alongside actor-singers Héloïse Bernard and Sarah Lambie, Jo Lawrence on violin, Rachel Gray on cello and Aidan Phillips on harpsichord.
English Music Festival
Mon, 25 May 2026
Dartington Hall, Devon
7:00pm
£32
Full Event Details
★★★★ “this is one show that deserves greater exposure…” - The Times
★★★★ “this is one show that deserves greater exposure…” - The Times
★★★★ “… the way the drama allowed a remarkable cross section of Purcell’s music to be performed was quite striking.” - Planet Hugill
A play with music by award-winning writer Clare Norburn and BAFTA-nominated BBC director Nicholas Renton (Mrs Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters, Musketeers, Lewis).
1695: in his final illness, composer Henry Purcell (Niall Ashdown) is suffering from feverish dream-like hallucinations in which the past, present and fantasy collide, and his songs take on a life of their own. His bedroom is transformed into a theatre, and Purcell revisits his past, including his childhood memories of the Great Fire of London and his early romance with his wife.
Interwoven into the drama are assorted instrumental and vocal compositions by Purcell: from bawdy theatre ballads and joyful celebrations of love to slow airs, a ‘mad song’, and numbers from his semi-operas.
Niall Ashdown (Creating Carmen, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The Comedy Store Players) stars as Purcell alongside actor-singers Héloïse Bernard and Sarah Lambie, Jo Lawrence on violin, Rachel Gray on cello and Aidan Phillips on harpsichord.
Venue Details & Map
Location
Dartington Hall, Devon
Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL