It's true. It's all true for Moby-Dick. He's a killer, he's a fury, he's an angel of hell. Why if the white whale could talk he'd talk like Ahab.' Nantucket. 1851. Centre of a whaling industry that transformed blubber into the oils and candles that lit the world. It's there that a schoolmaster called Ishmael arrives to ship on a whale-boat. He enrols under Ahab, Captain of the Pequod a man bent on destroying the white whale that lost him his leg. Certain the destruction of his nemesis will slake his thirst; Ahab's single-minded pursuit of Moby-Dick consumes Ishmael, the crew and the Pequod itself. The spirit and atmosphere of Herman Melville's masterpiece romantic, ambiguous, characterful and rich with allegory is captured on stage by simple8 with 'a treasure chest of talented actors, impressive musicians and intelligent scripting and directing' - New Statesman.

Roland Emmerich directs this political thriller based around the notion that William Shakespeare was not in fact the author of the canon of plays attributed to him. In Elizabethan England, political intrigue abounds as the Tudors and the Cecils battle it out over the succession of Queen Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson/Vanessa Redgrave), and the Essex Rebellion mobilises against her. Enter the dashing and wildly talented Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Jamie Campbell Bower/Rhys Ifans), who not only fathers an illegitimate son in a clandestine incestuous relationship with Queen Elizabeth, but is also the secret author of the plays labeled with the name of William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall).

Drama written and directed by the Oscar-winning Jane Campion about the relationship between 19th century poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and fashion student Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Their romance begins slowly but soon the young couple's feelings intensify as Fanny helps John care for his sick younger brother and John then agrees to teach Fanny about poetry. Fanny's mother (Kerry Fox) and John's best friend, Charles (Paul Schneider), both unhappy with the relationship for their own reasons, are unable to stop them growing closer to each other. Tragedy, however, lurks on the horizon.