Publisher's Synopsis
It's 1598 and Will Shakespeare needs a new theatre...
James Burbage is dead, his investment at Blackfriars stalled, and Shakespeare is stuck in the wrong part of town. Shoreditch is no longer the hotbed of theatrical life it once was, and Shakespeare and his company are stuck at the ageing Curtain Theatre, out on a limb.
But south of the river business is booming...Outside of the harsh jurisdiction of the city, Southwarke is full of bear-baiting, cock-fighting, taverns and brothels. Here audiences are cramming into the best theatres England has ever seen; The popular Rose Theatre, and the resplendent new Swan Theatre, both making plays, pennies and pounds a plenty...
Against this backdrop we witness an audacious plan with the highest of stakes, all whilst Shakespeare is writing his new play, a little history piece called Henry V.To Build a Wooden O is comedy, tragedy and history all rolled into one magnificent play.
