Through a Cloud

England 1656. The sense of freedom, following the execution of the King, is threatening to plunge the country into anarchy. Against this background the blind poet John Milton, who is also the Government Secretary for Foreign Languages, and the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, meet for a picnic in the wilderness of the grounds of Hampton Court. An unwelcome interruption leads to a heated debate which calls into question both the jaded aspirations of those in power and the utopian ideologies of those who sit on the sidelines. Though firmly set in its period, Through a Cloud reaches forward prophetically to the present day. After a bloody insurrection, how can a country regain its equilibrium? And can good government be enforced from above on a divided nation? Through a Cloud, featuring the author himself playing Milton, premieres at Birmingham and Plymouth in October/November 2004. Jack Shepherd's first play, In Lambeth, about William Blake and Tom Paine, was staged at the Donmar Warehouse to critical acclaim: 'Shepherd's play orchestrates a fascinating clash between two types of revolutionary: the idealistic visionary and the principled pragmatist' Independent