Written on the Heart

An enthralling historical drama about the creation of the King James Bible, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to mark its four-hundredth anniversary. Written on the Heart is the dramatic story of the translation of God's Word into English. For one man, this endeavour leads to death at the stake. For another, it could mean an archbishop's mitre. After almost a century of unrest, the King James Bible was intended to end the violent upheavals of the English Reformation. But deep-seated discord forces a leading translator to confront the betrayal of his youthful religious ideals, for the sake of social peace. David Edgar's play Written on the Heart was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2011.