The BBC has announced 1536, a new drama based on Ava Pickett’s award-winning play

Set in the heart of Tudor England against the backdrop of Anne Boleyn’s arrest, the story weaves royal scandal with rural struggle. 1536 will be a new drama series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, based on Ava Pickett’s play of the same name, from Drama Republic (Riot Women, One Day).

The 8×30’ drama is written by Pickett (How To Get To Heaven from Belfast, The Great). The executive producers are Jude Liknaitzky, Roanna Benn, Rebecca de Souza, Chloe Beeson and Ava Pickett.

What is 1536 about

From the press release:

It centres around Anna, Mariella and Jane: three young women gossiping, arguing and dreaming in an Essex village, desperately waiting for their lives to start. When the news reaches them that King Henry VIII has had his Queen, Anne Boleyn, arrested, the three of them never suspect that this act will change their lives forever.

As the weeks unfold, Anna, Jane and Mariella notice a rising tide of puritanism and misogyny. They attempt to navigate marriage, relationships, betrayals and births but as the fate of a Queen in a tower is sealed, they discover that being a woman in a volatile country is dangerous. As their own fates come into focus, the three try desperately to hold on to their friendship — but can it last or must they turn on each other to survive?

It is described as a darkly comic and terrifyingly relevant story about friendship, sisterhood and a changing world, 1536 is a series that explores how the actions of a man in power changes the fate of working class women on the edges of the country. It asks if a King can murder his Queen, what does that mean for women elsewhere and how much have things really changed?

More details to be announced in due course. The play is currently at the Ambassadors Theatre, and stars Jane — Liv Hill, Anna — Siena Kelly, Mariella — Tanya Reynolds.