The New Hardy Players

A drama of the Napoleonic Wars from Thomas Hardy's epic "The Dynasts". An entertainment devised by Hardy himself as a fundraiser for the Red Cross in the First World War.

Last performed nearly 100 years ago, The New Hardy Players re-enact the 1916 presentation by the original Hardy Players on the eve of the Battle of the Somme.

The threat of invasion by France, the aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar with the death of Nelson, and the final epic struggle at Waterloo are all seen through the eyes of the Wessex folk in Budmouth.

Features songs and music from Napoleonic times, as well as famous songs of World War One, rich local dialect and a mummer's play.