The lute-and-voice duet Merry Melancholy (Simon Nisbett & Jenny Hill) will give their first performance of A Rehearsal of the Life and Death of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex in Cafe La Rosa, downstairs at La Rosa Hotel, on Thursday 22 March 2018 at 7.30 PM.

Tickets will be on sale at the door, or send us a request using the Contact page.

The play tells of the rise and fall of the Earl of Essex, his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I, and something of the politics and cultural influences of the latter part of the 16th century.

It takes the form of a dialogue between a lutenist, Richard (loosely based on Richard Mynshall, whose lute book survives, and who is known to have been an admirer of Devereux) and singer Susannah (who is fictional), as they rehearse for a concert to mark the launch of Gervase Markham’s book in memory of Devereux: Honour In His Perfection, which was published 23 years after the latter’s execution in 1601.