Light Shining in Buckinghamshire

Description

England, 1640s: The country is gripped by civil war and religious fervour. The Second Coming seems imminent, but no one can quite agree on how and when Christ will return, or what shape things will take in his kingdom on earth. But for a small group of utopian dreamers, ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary events around them, this apocalyptic outlook is one of hope, of radical unity, and of a new paradise. They are preachers, prophets, politicians, social outcasts, sinners, and saints, and they have a vision for a new and egalitarian world. But these Diggers, Levellers, and Ranters are not the only people who see England as a new Jerusalem in waiting, nor are they the only people with plans for society in a kingless England. Told in vignettes that veer from the grand to the intimate, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire uses the stories of common people swept up in the tides of history, religion, and utopian visions to ask questions that still resonate in the 21st century: what happens to the idealists on the losing side? Whose vision for the future is the one that must be followed? When does the political become religious and the religious political? And what do we really mean when we try to create heaven on earth?

Performances:

• 19:00 on 2024-05-21 at Corpus Playroom
• 19:00 on 2024-05-22 at Corpus Playroom
• 19:00 on 2024-05-23 at Corpus Playroom
• 19:00 on 2024-05-24 at Corpus Playroom
• 19:00 on 2024-05-25 at Corpus Playroom