This production is recommended for ages 14+.
Performance dates
2 May - 1 August 2026
Run time: 2hrs
No interval
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1536 London tickets
Following an award-winning engagement at the Almeida Theatre, 1536 transfers to the Ambassadors Theatre for a strictly limited run. Book your official tickets today.
About 1536
“Kings don’t kill their wives alright? It’s not – it just doesn't happen. It doesn’t.”
Set in the heart of Tudor England, 1536 is a gripping new play that weaves royal scandal with rural struggle. In a quiet field in Essex, three women reunite at their childhood meeting spot, eager for the latest gossip from London. Rumours swirl of a dangerous rift between King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn - and soon, whispers of betrayal closer to home ignite their own fears.
As the women navigate loyalty, love, and survival in a world ruled by men and monarchs, 1536 exposes how the fates of ordinary people mirror the turmoil of the crown. Sharp, haunting, and fiercely human, this Tudor drama captures the moment when history and personal rebellion collide.
It’s worth the applause
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Funny, saucy, and totally gripping” - The Daily Mail.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard, The Stage, WhatsOnStage, The Financial Times.
- Playwright Ava Pickett, won The 2024 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her debut play, 1536, as well as Best Writer at the Stage Debut Awards.
1536 cast
1536 casting to be announced.
1536 creatives
- Writer - Ava Pickett
- Director - Lyndsey Turner
- Designer - Max Jones
- Lighting Designer - Jack Knowles
- Lighting Design Concept Collaborator - Tim Lutkin
- Sound Designer - Tingying Dong
- Composer and Arranger - Will Stuart
- Movement and Intimacy Director - Anna Morrissey
- Fight Director - Sam Lyon-Behan
- Assistant Director - Taiwo Ava Oyebola
Latest 1536 News
News / Features / New Shows + Transfers
1536 Transfers from the Almeida Theatre to the West End
After a sell-out, critically acclaimed run at the Almeida Theatre, the award-winning new play 1536 is making its West End debut at the Ambassadors Theatre from 2 May to 1 August 2026. Described as “funny, saucy, and totally gripping” (The Daily Mail), the play has audiences hooked with its bold mix of history, humour, and contemporary relevance.
Gossip; Tudor Style
Set in 1536, the year King Henry VIII famously clashed with Anne Boleyn, 1536 follows three working-class women in Essex as royal scandal echoes through their lives. Anna, Mariella, and Jane gather at their childhood meeting spot, thirsting for gossip from London—and find their rural world unexpectedly mirroring the palace drama. As tensions rise, the women confront the violence that threads through history, revealing just how little power dynamics have changed
17 Nov, 2025 | By Hay Brunsdon