The Wars Of The Roses - Edward IV

A nation at war with itself. Father against son, husband against wife, brother against brother.

Epic, enthralling, extraordinary. This autumn the Rose stage will be transformed into a battleground for The Wars of the Roses, a gripping distillation of four of Shakespeare’s history plays, directed by Trevor Nunn, one of the world’s leading Shakespearean directors.

The War of the Roses is a trilogy of plays about one of the most tumultuous and intriguing periods of British history, the 15th century conflict between the House of York and the House of Lancaster for the throne of England.

Through these plays Shakespeare examines the very essence of human conflict. A tale of feuding families, murderous kings and adulterous queens, scheming and betrayal, revolts and battles, The Wars of the Roses chronicles the final struggle for power in medieval England.

The second play, Edward IV, is adapted from Shakespeare’s Henry VI Parts I, II and III, intensifies the conflict between all those grasping for power. The Civil War ebbs and flows as the throne changes hands. A powerless Henry VI becomes a pacifist appalled by the fighting; his beautiful French wife becomes a warrior queen, leading her army into battle. The white rose triumphs, promoting the accession of young Edward IV, but the red rose fights back and Henry VI is king again.

As the white rose counterattacks, nobody quite notices the emergence of an ambitious crookback youngster called Richard.