Wars do not break out, they are not brokered

or declared as is always written.

They are brought about by those who desire them.'

In June 1914, Europe was enjoying unprecedented peace and prosperity. Little over a month later, the world was at war – and only a handful of people knew it was happening.

Inspired by the medieval mystery plays, Sommer 14: A Dance of Death is an epic telling from a German and European perspective of the world's descent into war. Employing the character of Death as a guide, the play uses the classic Danse

Macabre structure of a series of searing vignettes to illuminate the people and the events that led up to the outbreak of the First World War.

'The dead are amongst us, they are inside us. They demand of us that we answer for our crimes.'

Sommer 14: A Dance of Death is a hugely ambitious epic vision of the Great War from one of Europe's most acclaimed – and most controversial – dramatists, published to coincide with the UK premiere and the English world premiere at the Finborough Theatre in a brand-new translation by Gwynne Edwards.

Rolf Hochhuth