A New World

Saturday, 29 August 2009 - Friday, 9 October 2009

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, New Globe Walk, Southbank, SE1 9DR

How Much: £33.00 (Highest Price) , £5.00 (Lowest Price)

Trevor Griffiths' new play brings to life the radical author Thomas Paine, author of The Rights of Man and original inventor of the minimum wage, against a backdrop of ferment and revolution across Europe and the world.

Paine was an English Radical born in 1737 who lived through times of massive change, when old shackles were cast off and freedom was an an enticing new possibility for thousands of people across the world. He emigrated aged 37 to America, and wrote the pamphlet Common Sense, arguing for independence from England. Subsequently, his work and especially The Rights of Man (1797) were a huge influence on the French revolution. He moved to France where he was elected to the National Convention despite not speaking a word of the language, and became a hero of the Girondists. Eventually he returned to America where he died a celebrated figure.

This play celebrates a great man who as well as being an intellectual champion of basic rights, was a passionate lover and a slightly inept political mover-and-shaker. He was also broadly against organised religion which always made things a bit sticky.

The man, and the era, are brought to life in a carnival of colour, public speeches, music, dancing and celebration as the New World casts off the oprression of the old. This period piece promises to offer as much entertainment as it does Enlightenment.