The extraordinary lives of the great Victorian actors Ellen Terry and Henry Irving are unveiled in David Hare's sweeping family drama.

People arguing, that isn't theatre. People making points. And what's more, you and I don't belong in drawing rooms. Drawing rooms can't contain us. We need courts and palaces and cathedrals. There's scale for us there. We can move our elbows. Little rooms give us no space.

Henry Irving believes that theatre is the only thing that matters. Ellen Terry believes it's more important to be a decent human being. Ellen's daughter Edith Craig believes theatre can change society, but her son Edward Gordon Craig dreams only of a theatre free from actors and dialogue. Together, but in very different ways, they develop the paths which lead to the modern British theatre.

David Hare's magnificent play opened at Theatre Royal Bath, in June 2025.