Basing his plot on a farce by Plautus, Shakespeare caps the mayhem of his Roman original to build up a hectic tale of violent cross-purposes, furious slapstick and social nightmare.
The Winter’s Tale is Shakespeare’s great play of the irrational and inexplicable, illustrating how uncontrollable emotions can range across gender, country, class and age. Its universe is full of monsters, gods and natural disasters with a colossal sweep that takes audiences from the stifling atmosphere of the Sicilian court to the unbuttoned joy of a Bohemian festival. Staged at the beautiful and iconic Globe Theatre in London, this new production is directed by Blanche McIntyre and stars Will Keen (The Crown, Wolf Hall) as Leontes, Priyanga Burford (W1A, Marcella) as Hermione and Annette Badland (East Enders, Father Brown) as Old Shepherd.
Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson and her young assistant, Tom Buckley, study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origins. Simon Silver, a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge to both orthodox science and professional sceptics. Tom starts to develop an intense obsession with Silver, whose magnetism becomes stronger with each new manifestation of inexplicable events. As Tom gets closer to Silver, tension mounts, and his worldview is threatened to its core.
A young couple promised land by a farmer go too far when their dream of a first home together comes under threat.