Cicero, the greatest orator of his age, devotes all his energy and cunning to preserve the rule of law, and defend Rome's Republic against the predatory attacks of political rivals, discontented aristocrats, and would-be military dictators.

Imperium is a backstage view of Ancient Rome at its most bloody and brutal, told through the eyes of Tiro, Cicero's loyal secretary.

Adapted by Mike Poulton from Robert Harris's bestselling The Cicero Trilogy, it was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in November 2017 in an epic event comprising six plays presented in two performances.

Mike Poulton is an award-winning dramatist whose many adaptations include Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, The Canterbury Tales and Morte d'Arthur (all for the Royal Shakespeare Company), A Tale of Two Cities (Royal & Derngate, Northampton), Luise Miller (Donmar Warehouse), Don Carlos (Sheffield Crucible/West End) and Wallenstein (Chichester Festival Theatre).

About the Author
Robert Harris is a bestselling author whose novels include: The Cicero Trilogy (Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator), Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and Conclave. Several of his books have been filmed, including The Ghost, which was directed by Roman Polanski. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Mike Poulton is an award-winning dramatist whose many adaptations and translations for the stage include: Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (Chichester Festival Theatre, 2024); Robert Harris's Imperium (Royal Shakespeare Company); The York Mystery Plays (directed by Philip Breen at York Minster); Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies (directed by Jeremy Herrin for the Royal Shakespeare Company); Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities (directed by James Dacre at the Royal & Derngate, Northampton); Fortune's Fool (directed by Lucy Bailey at the Old Vic, London); Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (directed by Lucy Bailey at The Print Room, London); Schiller's Luise Miller (directed by Michael Grandage for the Donmar Warehouse, London); Anjin: The English Samurai (directed by Gregory Doran for Horipro in Tokyo); Malory's Morte d'Arthur (directed by Gregory Doran for the Royal Shakespeare Company); Schiller's Wallenstein (directed by Angus Jackson at Chichester Festival Theatre); Schiller's Mary Stuart (directed by Terry Hands at Clwyd Theatr Cymru); Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea (directed by Lucy Bailey at Birmingham Repertory Theatre); Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (directed by Philip Franks at Chichester Festival Theatre, and Terry Hands at Clwyd Theatr Cymru); Ibsen's Rosmersholm (directed by Anthony Page at the Almeida Theatre, London); Strindberg's The Father (directed by Angus Jackson at Chichester); Myrmidons (directed by Simon Coury at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin); and a two-part adaptation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (directed by Gregory Doran for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and performed at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in the West End, and on tour of the US and Spain). His acclaimed version of Schiller's Don Carlos premiered at the Sheffield Crucible in a production directed by Michael Grandage with Derek Jacobi as King Philip II of Spain. It has since been widely performed, including by Rough Magic Theatre Company in Dublin (directed by Lynne Parker), and at the Go teborgs Stadsteater (directed by Eva Bergman). Other productions include Ibsen's Hedda Gabler (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Liverpool Playhouse); Turgenev's Fortune's Fool (directed by Arthur Penn at the Music Box Theater, Broadway; nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, and winner of seven major awards including the Tony Awards for Best Actor for Alan Bates and Best Featured Actor for Frank Langella); Uncle Vanya (directed by Michael Mayer at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway; with Derek Jacobi, Roger Rees and Laura Linney); Three Sisters (directed by Bill Bryden at the Birmingham Rep; with Charles Dance); Ghosts (Theatre Royal Plymouth); The Seagull, Three Sisters, The Dance of Death and an adaptation of Euripides' Ion (all directed by David Hunt at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester). He was made an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2017.

Reviews

'A riveting epic for our time - The West Wing in sandals'

* The Times *

'One of the finest achievements of the Royal Shakespeare Company in recent years... an exhilarating and timely political drama... provides both an intriguing character study and a demonstration of politics in action'

* Guardian *

'The sheer scale of the enterprise inspires awe... Poulton distils the original trilogy with his customary combination of verbal dexterity, clear storytelling and hefty doses of leavening wit, [which] only serves to accentuate the brilliance of the undertaking... puts these dense historical epics onto the stage with all the panache and pace of a Netflix box set'

* Whatsonstage.com *

'The West Wing in blood-soaked togas... this turbulent story of bitter rivalries and criminal conspiracy is both timely and entertaining... an instructive and entertaining vision of one of history's great self-made heavyweights'

* Evening Standard *

'Ambitious, intricate and compelling... an epic undertaking... Poulton's adaptation expertly condenses and makes clear all the complex machinations and power plays, the conspiracies, shifting loyalties and betrayals. In his hands the intricate, multi-stranded narrative moves fluidly and is never less than engaging'

* The Stage *



Book Information
ISBN 9781848426986
Author Robert Harris
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books