In 1853 art critic John Ruskin, his wife Effie and Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais take a trip to the Scottish Highlands. On their return, four months later, London lips are all talking about The Countess. A drama based on one of the Victorian era’s most notorious and sexual scandals, The Countess ran for 634 performances in New York.

Nick Moran, who plays Ruskin, is best known for his work on legendary British gangster film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but away from the London underworld is a published playwright whose stage credits include Billy Liar, Four knights In Knaresborough and The Rivals. Alison Pargeter, who plays Effie, won two Best Newcomer awards for her performances in Damsels In Distress (2002), before going on to make a notable appearance as Martin Fowler’s crazed stalker in Eastenders.