In a world bound by iron laws and dead rituals, two young men are struggling to make their way: Steerpike, the renegade kitchen-boy who seduces and murders his way up the social ladder, and Titus Groan, heir to Gormenghast, who comes to threaten its very existence.
John Constable famously 'pulled off the impossible' (The Times) with his stage adaptation of Mervyn Peake's legendary Gormenghasttrilogy. Commissioned and produced by the David Glass Ensemble, this gruesome, gothic drama has since become a landmark in the history of adaptation for the stage.

John Constable is a south London playwright, poet and performer. He is the author of many plays, including The Southwark Mysteries, his epic cycle of apocalyptic poems and mystery plays, performed in Shakespeare's Globe and Southwark Cathedral in 2000 and 2010. It has also featured in many site-specific performances - such as The Halloween of Crossbones, performed annually since 1998. For more than a decade John has conducted unusual historical walks around Southwark, some of which are included in his book Secret Bankside - Walks In The Outlaw Borough. He is artistic director of the community arts group, SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES, and was recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship of London South Bank University for "services to the Arts and Community". John Constable's Sha-Manic Plays, his stage adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy, The Southwark Mysteries and Secret Bankside - Walks In the Outlaw Borough are all published by Oberon Books.