This production is recommended for ages 14+.
Performance dates
2 May - 1 August 2026
Run time: 2hrs
No interval
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Kings don’t kill their wives, right?
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. And closer to home, another rumour begins to catch fire.
As these women begin to see echoes of the royal drama in their own rural lives, a tide of violence threatens their very existence, and they realise the royal scandal could cost them everything.
The creative team for 1536 includes; Director: Lyndsey Turner; Set and Costume Designer: Max Jones; Lighting Designer: Jack Knowles; Sound Designer: Tingying Dong, Movement and Intimacy Director: Anna Morrissey; Composer and Arranger: Will Stuart and Casting Director: Amy Ball CDG.
1536 is produced in the West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Annapurna Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre.
Latest 1536 News
News / Features / New Shows + Transfers
1536 Transfers from the Almeida Theatre to the West End
After a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at the Almeida Theatre, the award-winning new play 1536 is making its West End debut at the Ambassadors Theatre from 2 May to 1 August 2026. Described as “funny, saucy, and totally gripping” (The Daily Mail), the play has audiences hooked with its bold mix of history, humour, and contemporary relevance.
Gossip; Tudor Style
Set in 1536, the year King Henry VIII famously clashed with Anne Boleyn, 1536 follows three working-class women in Essex as royal scandal echoes through their lives. Anna, Mariella, and Jane gather at their childhood meeting spot, thirsting for gossip from London—and find their rural world unexpectedly mirroring the palace drama. As tensions rise, the women confront the violence that threads through history, revealing just how little power dynamics have changed
17 Nov, 2025 | By Hay Brunsdon