“David Edgar has come up with a learned, information-packed and engrossing play.” -- Guardian

“Brings the Reformation and its ideological conflicts stingingly alive.” -- Independent

“Marvellous.” -- The Stage

An enthralling historical drama about the creation of the King James Bible, commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to mark its four-hundredth anniversary.

Written on the Heart is the dramatic story of the translation of God's Word into English. For one man, this endeavour leads to death at the stake. For another, it could mean an archbishop's mitre.

After almost a century of unrest, the King James Bible was intended to end the violent upheavals of the English Reformation. But deep-seated discord forces a leading translator to confront the betrayal of his youthful religious ideals, for the sake of social peace.

David Edgar pioneered the teaching of playwriting in the UK, founding the Playwriting Studies course at Birmingham University in 1989. He is also a leading playwright, best known for his political plays and for his adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby for the RSC.