Production and Cast

Yeats by Lightning _____________________________________________________________________

In 2015 we marked the 150^th anniversary of W B Yeats with the launch of an inspiring celebration of the man and his work that crosses boundaries between literature, storytelling, music and theatre.

All good stories see their hero pursue a noble quest in the face of setbacks, danger and personal cost. Yeats by Lightning is no exception, illuminating - in the manner of swift lightning flashes - some key moments from William Butler Yeats' extraordinarily active life and creative quest.

This original work takes its form from Ireland’s classical pairing of bard and harpist, and brings alive a selection of Yeats’ poetry as it arises from the rich narrative of his life.

Watch video extracts from the show recorded at Wimbledon BookFest.

Some audience feedback from the same performance:

'rich, moving and inspired'

'lovely, engaging storytelling'

'utterly accomplished and inspiring work'

'a witty, clever and intimate performance'

Dónal Cox trained and worked with the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national theatre, founded by Yeats in 1904. Here he leads a celebration of the Nobel Laureate’s outstanding gift to Irish, Anglo-Irish and world literature.

Award-winning musician Gina Mackey joins us for the first time, providing Celtic harp accompaniment to highlight the remarkable 'word-music' that is a feature of Yeats' writing.