Middlemarch

Middlemarch Synopsis

'There is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it.'

It's 1832, and the town of Middlemarch is on the brink of enormous social change. The entire community, from devout idealist Dorothea Brooke and ambitious young doctor Tertius Lydgate, to principled pragmatist Mary Garth and the morally deficient Nicholas Bulstrode, must confront the heartbreaks, the disappointments and the fallings-short that await us all.

Fettered by family responsibility, financial bonds and damaging secrets, each will see their personal ideals crash against reality.

Adapted from George Eliot's beloved 'study of provincial life', often described as one of the greatest novels in English literature, Nina Raine condenses Middlemarch into one commanding and expansive play, presented in two parts. It was first performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon, in 2026, directed by Jeremy Herrin and co-produced with Second Half Productions.