As in every year, our last talk will be a lighter one, setting us all up for the Christmas season. But before that we will be able to welcome our new MP Steve Race who will be introduced to our work by our Chair Keith Lewis.
Alan Caig recently wrote a play called ‘Like a House on Fire’, which took a rather oblique look at the important role the theatre has played in Exeter life – culminating in the great disaster of 1887, when the Theatre Royal burned down with huge loss of life. The subsequent rewriting of theatre safety laws might be the greatest contribution Exeter made to theatre, but it was far from the only one, and Alan’s talk will look at some of the extraordinary stories he wove into the play – featuring the Brotherhood of Brothelyngham, Bishop Grandisson, Robin Hood, the Exeter Mystery Cycle, the shamefully unknown Andrew Brice, the Seven Stars pub, Edmund Kean and even William Topaz McGonagall, the Victorian age’s worst poet.
Parking onsite is limited for disabled people only, telephone the Mint on 01392 279786 to reserve a space. This City Centre venue is well served by public transport and there are public car parks nearby.
We respect peoples’ choice to wear a mask to keep healthy and protect others.
The illustrations are the original 7 Stars near Exe Bridges, Edmund Kean as Hamlet, an Exeter playbill featuring him, a page from the Illustrated London News reporting on the fire and a photo of the Theatre Royal which burned.
