Lord Arthur's Bed

2008 - City slickers Donald and Jim are celebrating their civil partnership.
1868 - Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton, 3rd son of the 5th Duke of Newcastle, married a pretty young creature, who went by the name of Miss Stella Boulton, thereafter known as Lady Arthur Clinton.

But disaster struck when Lady Arthur and her best friend Fanny were arrested at the theatre. A police investigation revealed a fact of some importance: Stella was actually Ernest Boulton and Fanny was really Fred Park. They were both charged with sodomy and sent for trial. Lord Arthur was also charged.

Lord Arthur's Bed by Martin Lewton weaves these two stories together, dramatizing the farcical trial that gripped the nation 25 years before the downfall of Oscar Wilde. In Fanny and Stella's extraordinary and comical story, two modern men find a hidden history and some uncomfortable truths that threaten to wreck their new life together.

The production is on tour throughout May and will be in:

Brighton on 14/15/16 May at 7.30 at the Friends Meeting House
01273 709709 www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk

Leeds on 20/21 May at 8.00 The Carriageworks
0113 2243801 www.carriageworkstheatre.org.uk

Bath on 22/23 May at 8.00 at The Rondo Theatre
01225 463362 www.bathfestivals.org.uk

Settle on 24 May at 8.00 at the Victoria Theatre
01729 825718 www.settlevictoriatheatre.co.uk

The play contains nudity and scenes of a sexual nature, suitable for ages 16+.

Some background to the Clinton case can be found here (spoiler for those planning to attend the play).

Pictures: "Stella Boulton" and an admirer and poster for the show