Gentlemen and ladies of England now abed shall set their alarm clocks to remind them: if it is Tuesday there are still seven plays, four kings, three severed heads, two theatres and a gallon of stage blood to go, as the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of all the Bard's history plays, performed in chronological order, comes to town.
The production, This England - The Histories, is the first time a professional company has staged the complete cycle within a week, though the RSC and other companies have done them across a season.
It is already too late to lash out £220 to see the lot. There were hopefuls queueing at 8am yesterday at the Barbican box office for returns for the first play, Richard II, starring Sam West. It opened last night and is sold out for the run.
There are a handful of tickets available for Henry IV parts one and two, and some for Henry V at the Barbican, and limited availability when the cycle moves to the Young Vic for Henry VI parts one, two and three, and Richard III.
The artistic director, Adrian Noble, said: "This will be an amazing opportunity for audiences to see English history unfolding before their eyes, and the chance to follow the political and private lives of characters played by the same actors throughout more than one play."
The RSC has already sold more than 500 tickets for the cycle, with Shakespeare lovers coming from every corner of Britain and from Germany, Switzerland, the US and Canada. They will see one play a night for four nights and two shows on Wednesday and Saturday.
Saturday will also see a rehearsed reading of Edward III at the Barbican, a play bitterly debated for centuries by Shakespearean scholars, which is now believed to be his work and is a prequel to the great history cycle.
This England - The Histories runs for 1,413 minutes and involves the work of four directors, 79 actors playing 264 roles, more than 400 costumes, 50 swords and 10 guns.
When the last crowned head rolls, most of the actors will get a small break. Sam West, however, finishes as Richard II on April 17 in London and hares back to Stratford-upon-Avon, where he has rehearsals and three preview performances before the first night of his Hamlet on May 2.
