Do The Write Thing presents, Nelly-A Folk Musical.

Twenty years on from his published biography, writer Graham Hopkins finally gets his Nelly – A Folk Musical onto the stage!

In Restoration England, Nell Gwynne became the most famous woman alive. Theatre is all about storytelling. Folk music is all about storytelling. And Nell Gwynne-what a story! Born into poverty the young Nelly was a cinder girl, a fish hawker, an orange seller but became the leading comedy actress of her day.

She is perhaps best known to history as the mistress of Charles II. But is really known to us because she was funny. Samuel Pepys called her “pretty witty Nell”. Playwrights, poets and politicians – the sharpest minds courted her and were part of her “merry gang”.

Hopkins brought together some of the folk world’s best songwriters, Jo Freya, Robb Johnson (“An English original”, The Guardian), Reg Meuross (“one of the finest singer-songwriters this country has produced” BBC Radio 2), Lucy Ward (“impressive and original”, The Guardian), Boff Whalley (ex-Chumbawamba), and Dave Wilson (Winter Wilson – “Special” RnR Magazine) to create 19 belting songs which punctuate this story of a remarkable woman in a fascinating time – the king restored to the throne, plague, Great Fire, and plots galore.

This is a colourful story, funny and moving, performed by actors Emily Jane Brooks (Nelly) and Conor Lynam (Charles II and all male roles.)