Actor

This captivating adaptation of Laurie Lee’s celebrated autobiographical trilogy – Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War – weaves together music and words to celebrate Lee’s engaging humour, as well as his darker side.

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words & Music

Southbank Centre

Subscription Rooms

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words and Music

A celebration of Thomas Hardy with actor Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright, and music by Holst, Purcell, Elgar and contemporary folk.

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A Beautiful Thread – Thomas Hardy in Words and Music

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Hall for Cornwall

In A Beautiful Thread, Oxford Playhouse favourite, Anton Lesser(Endeavour, Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones) tells the story of Thomas Hardy’s life – as dramatic as any of his books – in Hardy’s own words, through his sublime poetry, letters, and great novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.

Anton Lesser and Lucia Bonbright bring a hugely varied cast to dazzling life: from Hardy’s immortal characters, Hardy himself, his mother, Jemima and wives, Emma and Florence, to George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf! The show highlights Hardy’s humour (often overlooked!), his modernity, the astonishing time-span he lived through, and his global reach, from Japan to Hollywood. Adapted by Deirdre Shields, Hardy’s extraordinary writing shines bright as ever.

A Beautiful Thread

Oxford Playhouse

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

A Beautiful Thread – Thomas Hardy in Words & Music 2026

BEAM

Anton Lesser stars in this candlelit one-man show of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic.

A Christmas Carol with Anton Lesser andd Orchestra of the Swan

Birmingham Town Hall

Anton Lesser and Charlie Hamblett play the role of Laurie Lee older and younger, along with a rich array of other characters. Featuring music by Vaughan Williams, Walton, Holst, Elgar, Britten, Grainger, Albéniz, Turina and Falla.

Red Sky at Sunrise – Laurie Lee in Words & Music

Chichester Festival Theatre

Performed by Anton Lesser, Lucia Bonbright, and Orchestra of the Swan.  

Starring Anton Lesser, A Beautiful Thread weaves Hardy’s life – dramatic as any of his books – with his beautiful poetry and great novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure. Hardy put more music into his work than any other writer, and Orchestra of the Swan’s Artistic Director, David Le Page has devised a musical programme of shimmering beauty – a Mellstock folk band style, that combines West Gallery music with Holst, Warlock and contemporary folk. Adapted by Deirdre Shields, Hardy’s extraordinary writing shines bright as ever.  

A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy in Words and Music

Wilton's Music Hall

Laurie Lee’s extraordinary story, told in a captivating weave of music and his own words.. 
 

Red Sky at Sunrise follows Laurie Lee through his much-loved Cider with Rosie trilogy – Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, A Moment of War – , when he famously walked out of the Slad valley one summer morning, and ended up fighting with the International Brigades against Franco’s forces in the Spanish Civil War. 

Laurie Lee’s extraordinary story, told in a captivating weave of music and his own words.

Actor

Anton Lesser

Events

Past events

16 - 17 Jul, 2026

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words & Music · Orchestra of the Swan

Jul 16, 2026

Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words and Music · Southbank Centre

Future and recently performed repertoire

Actor in A Christmas Carol by Dickens

Orchestra of the Swan

About

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