We are producers of Words & Music theatrical presentations and plays, touring the UK, from no 1 venues to small halls, for one-nighters and short runs - highlighting great authors, and stories, brought to life through storytelling, performed by wonderful actors and musicians.
Led by David Hamblett and Judy Reaves, Hambletts specialise in producing exciting new projects, taking them to unusual spaces and creating new audiences.
We work with the brilliant adapter and writer, Deirdre Shields. Deirdre has a great skill of telling the writers' stories in their own words - sometimes from their novels, sometimes journals and poetry.
We select actors who are expert at storytelling to bring these words to life (including Anton Lesser, Harriet Walter, Sunny Ormonde, Adjoa Andoh, Hermione Norris).
Dazzling music scores, with arrangements by the onstage Orchestra of the Swan, weave around these words.
"...we have created a new genre of performance whereby words and music weave together to mutually enhance each other. We aim to shine a light on great writers' lives by using their own words - from novels, poetry, journals, letters and plays - to tell their story and to lift the veil of preconception.
We also aim to appeal to both the concert and theatre audience - with a cross-genre approach to venues, ranging from theatre, concert hall and outdoors (Stonehenge!)"
Judy Reaves.
Red Sky at Sunrise has been touring for one-night performances and short runs since its first theatre premiere in May 2023, when we sold out the RSC’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Since then, the production has sold out Oxford Playhouse, Salisbury International Arts Festival (Playhouse), Saffron Hall, Wilton's Music Hall, Buxton Opera House, Painswick Rococo Garden and others. We were featured on R4's Today (with Mishal Hussain), R3's In Tune, Times Radio, 6Music and were delighted to receive a wonderful '5 mice' review from Libby Purves.
New touring productions for 2025, with the same creative team:
Check out our WHAT'S ON page for dates.