Set in 1953, Nicholas De Jongh’s new play Plague Over England follows events surrounding the recently knighted Sir John Gielgud who, poised to return to the West End in a new play, is arrested in a public lavatory on charges of importuning for immoral purposes. As news of his conviction is splashed across the national press – at a time when judges, politicians and doctors describe homosexuality in terms of a cancer, an epidemic and a threat to national life – Gielgud faces personal and professional ruin. Then something extraordinary happens.

Plague Over England offers a fascinating insight into the dramatic changes in social attitudes to gay life in the last 50 years.

When Plague Over England premiered at the Finborough theatre in 2008, it received excellent reviews. This new production, once again directed by Tamara Harvey, arrives in London’s West End for a limited season at the Duchess theatre.

Plague Over England’s author De Jongh is better known as a critic than a playwright. He is the lead critic for the Evening Standard.