Geoffrey Chaucer

Beth Craddock (Julie Walters) is a highly successful television actress in her early fifties but her professional success is not reflected in her private life. She has had four husbands and the fourth (Bill Nighy) is about to leave her for a younger woman. She begins an affair with co-star Jerome (Paul Nicholls) who is 30 years her junior and, despite general disapproval, they are genuinely happy. Unfortunately Jerome's health issues mean that the story does not end well for Beth.

A Chaucerian romp in an 18th-century setting.

A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub – there's no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman's got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life's an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden... A play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Zadie Smith transports Chaucer's The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London, directed by Kiln Theatre Artistic Director, Indhu Rubasingh. A production from Kiln Theatre.

Beth Craddock (Julie Walters) is a highly successful television actress in her early fifties but her professional success is not reflected in her private life. She has had four husbands and the fourth (Bill Nighy) is about to leave her for a younger woman. She begins an affair with co-star Jerome (Paul Nicholls) who is 30 years her junior and, despite general disapproval, they are genuinely happy. Unfortunately Jerome's health issues mean that the story does not end well for Beth.

A Chaucerian romp in an 18th-century setting.

A proper local legend. Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the pub – there's no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman's got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables, and her love life's an epic poem. They call her The Wife of Willesden... A play that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Zadie Smith transports Chaucer's The Wife of Bath to 21st Century North West London, directed by Kiln Theatre Artistic Director, Indhu Rubasingh. A production from Kiln Theatre.