MOVE over BBC2’s late-night romps in The Tudors. Here comes Anne Boleyn, written by Howard Brenton for the Globe Theatre in London in 2010 and now making its first appearance in York at the King’s Manor, once Henry VIII’s northern pad, as part of the York Festival of Ideas.

Brenton’s play presents a young, fearless and provocative Anne Boleyn, played by Nina McMillan, and explores the life of the English court at a time of ambition, battle, power and lust, when Anne’s aspirations to rule the heart of the King leave her fighting for the crown of the Queen.

It displays with great detail the politics of both people and nation alongside the prominence of religion; the foundations of society.

“King’s Manor is an appropriate venue in more ways than one, with its relevance to the period in which the play is set,” says producer Sophie Hackett.

“King’s Manor, named so after King Henry VIII, has been visited by King James I and was also the headquarters for the Council of the North up until the Civil War. This play, although modern, is drenched in history, which plays hand-in-hand with King’s Manor’s historical past and highlights just how much York has to offer.”

Anne Boleyn will be staged by ByTheHand Productions. Directed by Ellie Clare Taylor, the production is the first full-length play to be incorporated in the festival and will be played out in an original open-air Tudor courtyard with an original score.

Anne Boleyn runs from today to Saturday. Doors open at 6.15pm and you are invited to arrive early for the 7pm start, have a picnic or visit the café. Tickets can be booked on 07765 612411.