‘Bright Star’ is a celebration of the life and work of two of Europe's brightest stars in the nineteenth century: John Keats and Franz Schubert. Devised and presented by actor, director and founder of Bell Shakespeare, John Bell AO OBE and internationally acclaimed pianist Simon Tedeschi, the programme runs to 90 minutes without interval.

Both Keats and Schubert died too young. They each loved a woman who was beyond their reach because of her high social standing. Although they never met they were indeed kindred spirits, two of the brightest stars of the Romantic Movement which produced some of the greatest art in European history.

John will read some dozen of Keats' most beloved poems including "Ode to a Nightingale", "Ode to Autumn", "Ode to a Grecian Urn" and "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", along with shorter poems and some letters... some underscored with Schubert's music. Simon will perform excerpts of his favourite Schubert pieces (including the Fantasy sonata in G major and the Impromptus op.90), with he and John preceding their performances with commentary, anecdotes, historical background and personal statements on what each piece means to them, at times exchanging views and reactions in spontaneous conversation. Rather than an academic exercise, ‘Bright Star’ is the passionate responses of the artists to works that move and inspire them, in an informal and intimate setting.