Doctor Semmelweis starring Mark Rylance postponed at Bristol Old Vic

The Bristol Old Vic's upcoming world premiere of Doctor Semmelweiss has been postponed.

Co-produced with Sonia Friedman, National Theatre and Shakespeare Road, the new play will still be presented, with dates to be revealed. The show, which is based on the life of the famous radical member of the medical profession, will star Mark Rylance, with Rylance, writer Stephen Brown and Tom Morris (the venue's artistic director) co-creating the piece.

Rylance said: "I am very sad not to be rehearsing this resonant play for our scheduled opening this summer. I was particularly looking forward also to living and playing in Bristol. I have always enjoyed being in the audience at the beautiful Bristol Old Vic and spent many enjoyable days and nights in Bristol while filming Wolf Hall or visiting friends.

"I hope that we as a society will one day soon feel safe to gather again in theatres and share these moving, amusing and sometimes tragic stories in the same room together. How I miss it! Technology is a marvellous thing but how much greater the human spirit and imagination is when gathered together in a group sharing something at the same time in the same place, be it sports, good food, music, or a great play. Tom and I are standing by the door waiting for the day we can share this extraordinary story of a great hero of medicine with you. It will be one of the many ways we will thank and honour our health workers on the frontline today."

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