Nina Raine

It's a hot, beautiful summer in 1905, and Russia's elite retreat to the countryside to swim, sip champagne and start affairs. When they're having this much fun, why care about anything else? But Varvara just can't shake the feeling that their holiday idyll is built on borrowed time. As the party continues, how long can they ignore the storm on the horizon? Deputy Artistic Director Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky's Edge) directs Maxim Gorky's razor-sharp portrait of class, privilege and denial, revived for 2026 in a new adaptation from Nina Raine (Consent) and Moses Raine (Donkey Heart).

December is the busiest time of year for London’s hospitals. For one particular team it’s business as usual, even with the seasonal upsurge. Brian, the urology consultant, is audaciously trying to convince his superior, Mr Leffe, to swap irksome patients. Newcomer Emily has already discharged 5 people and it’s not even 10am. Her boyfriend James, a dishy doctor, is as usual engaged in charming his superiors – not to mention the eye-catching Rebecca. Feisty senior house officer Mark is wrestling with his bossy mentor Vashti to allow him to be more hands-on. And throughout it all, John, the cardiology registrar, simply can’t find a minute in the day to enjoy his roast turkey sandwich…

Follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of marital and extramarital relationships.