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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. 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 drama which asks whether female solidarity can survive in a world where barbarism and misogyny are state sanctioned.
It was commended by the George Devine Award, won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Lyndsey Turner. Ava Pickett was named Best Writer at the 2025 Stage Debut Awards.
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. 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 drama which asks whether female solidarity can survive in a world where barbarism and misogyny are state sanctioned.
It was commended by the George Devine Award, won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Lyndsey Turner. Ava Pickett was named Best Writer at the 2025 Stage Debut Awards.
- GenresPlaysHistorical Fiction
138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 10, 2025
Utterly phenomenal
June 15, 2025
A perfect play? Funny, meaningful, contemporary yet also wonderfully historical, important. Ava Pickett is a revelation.
September 15, 2025
Good!! Tense!!
February 16, 2026
Absolutely phenomenal, such a tense, witty, incredible piece of theatre! Would love to see this live!
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November 23, 20251536 fizzles and pops with drama, tension and copious amounts of humour, all underscored by very sinister happenings in London, a not-so-distant turbulence that slowly permeates the surrounding English counties. I found this play to be so witty and imbued with so much vigour that is solidified by the modern dialogue. The parallels between 16th century patriarchal authoritarianism and politics of the now is unflinching.
I audibly gasped more than once. A fantastic journey through love, friendship, protection, grief, loss and revelations.
I audibly gasped more than once. A fantastic journey through love, friendship, protection, grief, loss and revelations.
May 8, 2025
A revelation
February 16, 2026
My definition of success is being able to write this brilliantly/ acting in a play this phenomenal. Ava Pickett is the 2020’s Princess Diana.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews