Salisbury Playhouse announces season of plays on Magna Carta

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta will be the focal point of the Autumn/Winter season at Salisbury Playhouse.

Playwrights Timberlake Wertenbaker, Howard Brenton, Anders Lustgarten and Sally Woodcock have been commissioned to write short plays drawing inspired by the historic document, which will run as The Magna Carta Plays.

The Magna Carta Plays, which run from 22 October to 7 November 2015, will be directed by Salisbury Playhouse artistic director Gareth Machin and performed by an ensemble of actors.

"We are very proud that Salisbury is home to one of the surviving copies of Magna Carta and are delighted to be putting it at the heart of our new season with entertaining, thought provoking and exciting new plays about its enduring significance today," said Machin.

Elsewhere, actor Edward Fox will read extracts from Magna Carta on 15 June as part of a panel discussion investigating the relevance of the historic document today.

And youth theatre members will also join the Magna Carta 800 anniversary commemorations with promenade performances of a new play Clause 39 by Hattie Naylor in Salisbury Cathedral on June 20 and 21.

Other productions in the season include Katherine Mitchell's new play Bike (7-17 October), running as part of Salisbury Playhouse's Original Drama programme. There will also be revivals of Noël Coward's Fallen Angels (10 September-3 October) and Ira Levin's comedy thriller Deathtrap (43-27 February 2016). The Christmas panto is Cinderella (2 December-9 January).

Visiting productions include Terence Rattigan's Flare Path, Jane Wenham The Witch of Walkern and Clive Francis in A Christmas Carol.