‘Magna Carta’ written and directed by Kate Glover. Saturday 22nd August, 5pm, Newark Castle. Presented as a dramatized costumed reading by seven professional actors.

The great seventeenth century lawyer Edward Coke leads us into the thirteenth century to tell us the dramatic story of King John and his rebel barons.

King John, a complex and brilliant man, albeit with a dark side, is determined to get back his ancestral lands in France. And so he imposes swingeing and highly unpopular taxes on his subjects. The mystery as to who killed Arthur of Brittany with the implication that it might have been his Uncle John, deepens resentment…

A plot to murder John by baronial thugs is scuppered, but London falls to the rebel barons, thanks to the treachery of the enigmatic mayor Serlo the Mercer.

The denouement in a “field called Runnymede,” sees a furious John, after days of negotiations, brokered by Archbishop Stephen Langton, finally giving his seal to the Charter. It is left to Edward Coke to point to the iconic significance of this great event in future years.

Tickets: Adult £10 / Concessions £8 / Family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) £30

Advance tickets on sale at Newark Tourist Information Centre 01636 655765 and Palace Theatre 01636 655755.