Mat Osman
The Ghost Theatre

A dazzling punk re-imagining of Elizabethan London through the eyes of a clairvoyant, bird-worshiping protagonist and an unlikely theatre troupe.

Suede bassist, Mat Osman, returns to Essex to unleash his lushly evocative debut novel of hawk-trainers and child actors caught up in the dark glamour and tumult of Elizabethan London.

Fantastical and captivating, The Ghost Theatre charts the rise and dramatic destruction of a dream born from love and torn apart by betrayal.

Colchester Library, Trinity Square, Colchester, CO1 1JB
Tickets: £8 / £7
Box Office: Online or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948

About the book – The Ghost Theatre

A dazzling punk re-imagining of Elizabethan London through the eyes of a clairvoyant, bird-worshiping protagonist and an unlikely theatre troupe.

On a rooftop in Elizabethan London two worlds collide. Shay is a messenger-girl and trainer of hawks who sees the future in the patterns of birds. Nonesuch is the dark star of the city’s fabled child theatre, as famous as royalty yet lowly as a beggar.

Together they create The Ghost Theatre: a troupe staging magical plays in London’s hidden corners. As their hallucinatory performances incite rebellion among the city’s outcasts, the pair’s relationship sparks and burns against a backdrop of the plague and a London in flames. Their growing fame sweeps them up into the black web of the Elizabethan court, where Shay and Nonesuch discover that if they fly too high, a fall is sure to come…

Fantastical and captivating, The Ghost Theatre charts the rise and dramatic destruction of a dream born from love and torn apart by betrayal.

‘Utterly transporting’ – Catriona Ward

‘Glorious … From the first page, Osman brings the underworld of Elizabethan London to life with its child theatres, rioting apprentices and anarchic riverine world. But from here, the novel takes a step into air’ – Sandra Newman

‘A story of rebellion and magic, of mysticism and broken love in the streets and theatres and rooftops of Elizabethan London. Beautifully written, delicate and sad. I’m still haunted by it’ – Mariana Enriquez

‘Superb … Beautifully written and completely convincing’ – Observer

Picked as a Fiction Highlight for 2023 by The Times, Evening Standard and Observer

About the author

Mat Osman is the bassist and founder member of iconic British rock band Suede and a composer of music for TV and films. He also worked as a culture journalist during the noughties, writing about art and travel for papers, magazines and online.

Follow Mat on Instagram @matdosman and Twitter @matosman

Photo of Mat Osman © Tom Medwell