Bringing to life Polidori’s diary of the summer at Lake Geneva, 1816 shines a new light on the events of the time spent at the Villa Diodati, focusing on the stories behind the towering legacies of Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, and Percy Shelley. Combining Romantic-era music with musical theatre, the 1 hour-long comedy-drama by Natasha Atkinson and Nat Riches will bring the Romantics to present-day audiences at the Camden Fringe this August 6th and 7th.
Nat and Natasha studied music together in secondary school before pursuing degrees in Science and Law, respectively, at Cambridge. Despite this, they continued to combine their creative passions, culminating in 1816. Uniting art and science, as Polidori and the Shelleys did in their own lives and literary works, is a key theme that runs throughout the show. Lord Byron’s connection to the University remains a great inspiration, especially as Nat studies at Trinity College.
The show explores themes of Romanticism, academic pressure, and creative ambition. Byron battles inner turmoil as he attempts to write a masterpiece – the pressure of his legacy, his fame, and his humanity weighing heavy on his mind.
The writings of the Romantics play a central role in 1816 and is adapted both into the script and into various songs throughout the musical. An extract from Byron’s poem ‘To Thomas Moore’ is sung as a toast by Byron and Percy Shelley. Claire Clairmont’s ballad is structured as a letter to Byron and is made up of various snippets from her actual writings. The music itself takes inspiration from multiple places, with more typically Classical sounds in the earlier songs, including a strong Mozart and Beethoven influence for the opening. As the tension rises, more Romantic sounds are used, such as the Rachmaninoff-esque, heavy textures in Frankenstein, and rhythms like those of composers such as Liszt, who himself was greatly influenced by Byron’s poetry.
1816 is being performed at the Theatro Technis, London, on the 6th and 7th August 2025 at 9pm, the Lion & Unicorn Theatre, London, from 30th September- 4th October 2025 at 7.30pm, and the Corpus Playroom, Cambridge, from 15th – 8th October 2025 at 7pm. The link below contains tickets and more information about the show:
