London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA)

In this affectionate satire of his home town, Thomas Shadwell throws a pair of London sparks and a French pretender into the world of Bury St Edmunds. A pretentious female fop and her mother, a handful of gloriously idiotic local wags and a young woman in disguise as a boy to escape the will of her father – all dance headlong into chaos. All the fun of the fair in Bury indeed!

Thomas Shadwell was born at Stanton Hall, Norfolk in 1642. Educated at Bury St Edmunds School and at Caius College, Cambridge, he was made Poet Laureate in 1688 and wrote Bury Fair the following year.

A world-leading conservatoire, LAMDA offers exceptional vocational training to the most talented dramatic artists and technicians. LAMDA students are renowned for their ability, passion, commitment and openness – qualities that are underpinned by their superb skills and technique. And with their exceptional talent and mastery of their craft, graduates like Jim Broadbent, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Suchet, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Harriet Walter, Sam Claflin and Chiwetel Ejiofor among many others, are shaping the global performing arts industry.

As You Like It and Bury Fair are brought to the stage by LAMDA’s 2017 graduating actors and theatre technicians. This is your chance to see them first.