''Bloody Poetry'' is a 1984 play by Howard Brenton centring on the lives of

Percy Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

and his circle. The play had its roots in Brenton's involvement with the small touring company Foco Novo and was the third, and final, show he wrote for them. The initial idea was that Brenton should write a piece based on the life of Shelley, though Brenton was more interested in looking, not at the individual, but at the quartet of Percy,

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

and Byron's mistress

Claire Clairmont Clara Mary Jane Clairmont (27 April 1798 – 19 March 1879), or Claire Clairmont as she was commonly known, was the stepsister of the writer Mary Shelley and the mother of Lord Byron's daughter Allegra. She is thought to be the subject of a poe ...

, tying it in with

Utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

themes appropriate to the revolutionary spirit of the protagonists. In his introduction to the play Brenton disclaims any interest in moralising over the actions of his characters, as he had in a programme to his earlier play ''

Weapons of Happiness ''Weapons of Happiness'' is a 1976 political play by Howard Brenton, about a strike in a London crisp factory. The play makes use of a dramatic conceit whereby the Czech communist cabinet minister Josef Frank is imagined alive in the 1970s (in ...

''. The play takes as its epigraph a comment of Richard Holmes's, “Shelley's life seems more a haunting than a history.”

Stage history

''Bloody Poetry'' was first performed at the Haymarket Theatre Leicester on 1 October 1984 in a production that later played at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

. The director was Roland Rees and the cast was: Percy Bysshe Shelley –

Valentine Pelka Valentine Pelka (born 23 February 1956) is an English actor who has starred in film and on television. Biography Pelka was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, to a Polish civil engineer father and an Irish actress mother, and attende ...

– Fiona Shaw

–

Jane Gurnett Jane E. Gurnett (born 12 March 1957, Dorset) is an English actress known for her roles in British TV series ''Casualty'' (1994–1996), ''Dangerfield'' (1998–1999) and the second incarnation of ''Crossroads'' (2001–2003). She moved to War ...

George Byron – James Aubrey
Dr William Polidori –

William Gaminara William Gaminara (born 1956) is a Rhodesian-born British actor, screenwriter and playwright, probably best known for playing pathologist Professor Leo Dalton on the television series ''Silent Witness'', from 2002 to 2013. His plays include ''Acco ...

Harriet Westbrook – Sue Burton The play had its west coast premiere in 1991 at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, under the direction of

Keith Fowler Keith Franklin Fowler (born February 23, 1939) is an American actor, director, producer, and educator. He is a professor emeritus of drama and former head of directing in the Drama Department of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts of the Univer ...

, drawing excellent critical reception and winning the Dramalogue award for “Outstanding Direction.” Nightingale Theatre produced the play in the summer of 1994 at The Union Chapel, Islington, London. Kate Godfrey (Claire Clairmont), Jane Gooderham ( Harriet Westbrook), Melee Hutton (Mary Shelley), Mark Norton ( Percy Bysshe Shelley) Peter Quilter (George Byron). with Cordelia Monsey directing. The play played at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

in 1987 in a production directed by

Lynne Meadow Lynne Meadow is an American theatre producer, director and a teacher. She has been the artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club since 1972. Career A cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Meadow attended the Yale School of Drama.

and was revived in 1988 at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

and in 2007 at the

Chapter Arts Centre Chapter Arts Centre (often just referred to as Chapter) is an arts centre in Canton, Cardiff, Wales, opened in 1971. Description Chapter hosts films, plays, performance art and live music, and includes a free art gallery, café and bars. There ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

.Review
Retrieved on 11 October 2009 The play was staged by emerging company Invulnerable Nothings at The Brooklyn Art Library in 2016.

Notes

External links

* 1984 plays British plays Plays based on actual events Plays based on real people Plays set in England Plays set in the 19th century Cultural depictions of Lord Byron Cultural depictions of John Polidori Cultural depictions of Mary Shelley Cultural depictions of Percy Bysshe Shelley {{1980s-play-stub