When Katherine Brewed: a play

When Katherine Brewed features two groups: the royal group around the boy King Richard II; and a group of rebels caught up in the tumult of the Rising. As news of the rising reaches the king and his advisors panic descends upon them as they realise the precariousness of their situation. Without an army to defend them and holed up in the Tower of London, they go into meltdown as the seriousness of what is happening sinks in. In the meantime, four rebels come together to take part in the great march to London. The central character is Katherine, a brewer (brewing being one of the few trades open to a woman at this time). The other characters are an ex-archer and experienced soldier, a recently released ex-convict, and a village girl called Elizabeth. The rebel characters grow in confidence as they understand more and more the true purpose of the rising. Discussing the events, laughing and joking in amazement at what they are about, they enact the experience of the movement by turns with humour and seriousness. As the events unfold, we see Wat Tyler negotiating with the King, and the moment of apparent triumph. But we also learn of the trickery of the King’s advisers and the terrible betrayal that leads to the defeat of our four rebels and the movement that all-too-briefly changed their lives.