Softy Caesar (Nigel Barrett) isn’t fit to rule as his bouts of man flu, love of superstition and swooning at compliments are cause for concern to even his closest allies. Despite his wartime bravery and popularity amongst the citizens, insiders plot to fight back his threat to democracy with a murderous revolution, and an intense cast of characters form the goal of killing the people’s favourite before their city descends into chaos.

Filling the crime and thriller void in theatre, Peter James’s sixth stage adaptation, Wish You Were Dead, offers audiences a haunting escape alongside the long-suffering detective, Superintendent Roy Grace.

Looking back at a resurgence into radical politics, tribes and a disillusioned society, The Merchant of Venice (1936) takes on an old problem with fresh eyes.