The Robert Gillow, Lancaster. September 20th – 2019
The second play in the cycle finds Keats and Brown in Winchester at the end of their Summer on The Isle of Wight where they had collaborated on the unsuccessful stage work Otho the Great. The scene is imagined on the day of the writing of To Autumn and incorporates extracts from the great odes written earlier in the year. Once again the historical context plays a key role. The events of Peterloo in Manchester had occurred in August 1819 and through the character of a very knowledgeable barmaid they are brought to life. Keats’ grief for his brother, Tom, sets the tone for the end of the play.