1536

Kings don't kill their wives alright? It's not it just don't happen. It doesn't. 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 threatens to catch fire. As these women realise the parallels between their ordinary, rural lives and the royal drama taking place at a distance, they are faced with several choices, all of which end in violence. Ava Pickett's play 1536 is a fiendishly smart and funny new play which asks whether female solidarity can survive in a world where barbarism and misogyny are state sanctioned. It was the winner of the 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and is premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2025.