08 Jul 2026
Celebrating the 400th anniversary of Sir Francis Bacon’s death, OVO is presenting a special promenade performance of The Winding Stair this Saturday July 11.
Adapted by Jesse Norman from his widely admired novel – winner of the 2023 Parliamentary Book Award, a New Statesman Book of the Year, and a Sunday Times Book of the Week – this special production tells the gripping story of the colossal power struggle between two founding fathers of our modern world: the brilliant philosopher and politician Sir Francis Bacon and his chief rival, the legendary defender of common law, Sir Edward Coke.
Fans of Hilary Mantel and Wolf Hall will especially enjoy The Winding Stair. Set in late-Elizabethan and Jacobean England, the play captures a world where power is shifting, Queen Elizabeth I is dying, and King James I is waiting to ascend. It explores the heights of political ambition, rivalry, and betrayal. Combining humour, wit, and vivid imagination, The Winding Stair is an epic tale of jealousy and intrigue which, in its lowest moments, holds a darkened mirror to our own contemporary politics.
Jesse Norman said: “Francis Bacon and Edward Coke were both extraordinary men, but also deeply flawed.
“It has been fascinating to explore new aspects of their conflict, as well as the ambitions and compromises of politics, then as now, on the stage.”
These special previews, ahead of the show’s official premiere in November, will take place on Saturday with performances at 1pm, 3pm, and 5pm. The production will be presented as a promenade starting at the historic Roman Theatre of Verulamium and concluding at Bacon’s memorial in the chancel of St Michael’s Church,St Albans.
Tickets are on sale now. To book please visit www.ovo.org.uk
