Renaissance Tickets

About Renaissance

It’s a mystery that has been tantalizing historians for centuries. For a short time in 1502, Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia (whose fight for power was a major inspiration for ‘The Prince’ by Machiavelli), were all living under the same roof. This new comedy uses bold brushstrokes to re-imagine the interaction of these three extraordinarily charismatic and talented men, played by James Corrigan (Borgia), Akshay Sharan (da Vinci) and Nicholas Limm (Machiavelli). The action begins with Borgia in crisis: he longs to escape the weight of ruling, so appoints a little-known politician called Machiavelli to rule in his place. At the same time, Leonardo da Vinci decides that the pressures of the artistic life are unbearable, so he goes into politics. When Borgia disguises himself as an artist in his own court, the circle of transformation is almost complete... But the relationships between these famous men is not the only mystery. What really happened when Caterina Sforza defied Borgia’s army? And why did she take a vow of silence on the subject for the rest of her life? Bethan Cullinane plays Caterina Sforza, while Hannah Morrish casts a new light on the period’s ‘femme fatale’, Lucrezia Borgia. Haydn Gwynne takes a star turn as the ‘grande dame’ of art collecting, and master of the waspish put-down, Isabella d’Este.