LEADING theatre director Stephen Unwin helms Middleton and Rowley?s dark Jacobean masterpiece, The Changeling, as part of his final season as director at English Touring Theatre (ETT). Co-produced with Nottingham Playhouse Theatre, The Changeling comes to Hall for Cornwall next month as part of a seven-town tour. Beatrice-Joanna wants to marry Alsemero, but her father has other plans. Meanwhile her servant, the hideously deformed De Flores, would do anything to have her. When she asks him to dispose of her unwanted bridegroom, de Flores obliges. She tries to pay him in gold, but the obsessed servant has another reward in mind ? the beautiful Beatrice-Joanna herself. Initially repulsed, her desire is ignited and their torrid alliance propels them on a depraved journey of lust, lunacy and murder. The Changeling is often hailed as the greatest tragedy in English after Shakespeare. This is a classic Jacobean revenge drama fusing explicit sex and violence with the tragic and grotesque. At the same time, it is an electrifying and immediate domestic drama about the conflicting claims of familial duty and sexual desire. Stephen Unwin is one of the country?s most experienced theatre directors, best known for his acclaimed productions of classic plays. His many credits include King Lear with Timothy West (Old Vic), Hedda Gabler (Donmar) and Hamlet with Alan Cumming (Donmar) and Ed Stoppard (West End). Stephen founded ETT in 1993 and has made it into one of Britain?s leading touring companies. Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company is one of the UK?s leading regional producers, making work in Nottingham that is seen throughout the UK and abroad. The play runs from Tuesday, November 20, to Saturday, September 24, with performances at 7.30pm and 2.30pm on Wednesday and Saturday. Box office 01872 262466 or online at http://www.hallforcornwall.co.uk">www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
