A HAMPSTEAD THEATRE PRODUCTION
THE INVENTION OF LOVE
By TOM STOPPARD
Directed by BLANCHE MCINTYRE
If I had my time again, I would pay more regard to those poems of Horace which tell you you will not have your time again. Who knows how many tomorrows the gods will grant us? Now is the time, when you are young, to deck your hair with myrtle, drink the best of the wine, pluck the fruit…
Main Stage
Choose a date and select your own seats online
4 Dec 2024 - 25 Jan 2025
Box Office: 020 7722 9301
A E Housman is, as he understands it, finally dead. The noted Latin scholar and celebrated poet of A Shropshire Lad is being ferried across the Styx to Hades – but beyond the stygian gloom on the other side of the river he finds, to his surprise, the Oxford University of his youth. Alive with the academic debates that shaped his work and the friendships that shaped his life, this is the Oxford of Ruskin and Pater; a place still marked by the brilliance of a recently departed student called Wilde…
Tom Stoppard returns to Hampstead after the triumphant revivals of Hapgood and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Winner of eight Evening Standard, three Olivier and five Tony Awards, Stoppard’s plays include Leopoldstadt; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Arcadia.
Director Blanche McIntyre directed Botticelli in the Fire in 2019. She recently directed The Merry Wives of Windsor for the RSC and has worked extensively at The Globe; her previous credits include The House of Shades and The Writer (Almeida) and Tartuffe (National Theatre).
BAFTA, Olivier and Tony award-winner Simon Russell Beale returns to Hampstead following the 2015 sell-out hit Mr Foote's Other Leg. His theatre credits include The Lehman Trilogy (National Theatre, West End and Broadway), King Lear and Hamlet (National Theatre) and Jumpers (West End and Broadway). His film and television work includes The Death of Stalin, The Hollow Crown, Dunkirk and House of the Dragon.
Wed 04 Dec | 19:30 | PREVIEW | Sold Out | Book now | |
Thu 05 Dec | 19:30 | PREVIEW | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Fri 06 Dec | 19:30 | PREVIEW | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Sat 07 Dec | 19:30 | PREVIEW | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Mon 09 Dec | 19:30 | PREVIEW | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Tue 10 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Wed 11 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 12 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Fri 13 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 14 Dec | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 14 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Mon 16 Dec | 19:00 | PRESS NIGHT | Sold Out | ||
Tue 17 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Wed 18 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 19 Dec | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 19 Dec | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Fri 20 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 21 Dec | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 21 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Mon 23 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Tue 24 Dec | 14:30 | Book now | |||
Fri 27 Dec | 14:30 | Book now | |||
Fri 27 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 28 Dec | 14:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 28 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Mon 30 Dec | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Tue 31 Dec | 14:30 | Book now | |||
Thu 02 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 02 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Fri 03 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 04 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 04 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Mon 06 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Tue 07 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Wed 08 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 09 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 09 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Fri 10 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 11 Jan | 14:00 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 11 Jan | 19:00 | GALA PERFORMANCE | Book now | ||
Mon 13 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Tue 14 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Wed 15 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Thu 16 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 16 Jan | 19:30 | PATRONS EVENING, POST SHOW DISCUSSION | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Fri 17 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 18 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Sat 18 Jan | 19:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Mon 20 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Tue 21 Jan | 19:30 | CAPTIONED, POST SHOW DISCUSSION | Book now | ||
Wed 22 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Thu 23 Jan | 14:30 | Limited Availability | Book now | ||
Thu 23 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Fri 24 Jan | 19:30 | Book now | |||
Sat 25 Jan | 14:30 | AUDIO DESCRIBED | Limited Availability | Book now | |
Sat 25 Jan | 19:30 | Book now |
Artistic team
WRITER
TOM STOPPARD
DIRECTOR
BLANCHE MCINTYRE
DESIGNER
MORGAN LARGE
LIGHTING DESIGNER
PETER MUMFORD
COMPOSER AND SOUND DESIGNER
MAX PAPPENHEIM
Cast
![](/assets/Uploads/castmembers/_resampled/FillWyIzNTAiLCIzNTAiXQ/TIOL-Simon-Russell-Beale-1080x1080-bw.jpg)
A E Housman
SIMON RUSSELL BEALE
Previews
Full Price: £25/£35/£45/£55
Under 30s/Students: £10
Access ½ price
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
Monday – Saturday
Full price: £35/£45/£55/£65
Under 30s/Students: £10
Access ½ price
Seniors*: (matinees only): £26/£36/£46/£56
Groups: For every 9 tickets get the 10th free
*Ages 60+
All prices are subject to change. Book early for the best price.
CONTENT WARNINGS - THE INVENTION OF LOVE
Please note that our content warnings evolve as the production does throughout rehearsal and previews, so there may be changes made between booking and attending the theatre. If you would like to speak to a member of our team about specific themes or concerns, please call the Box Office on 020 7722 9301 or email boxoffice@hampsteadtheatre.com