Keepers of the Flame

A brilliant new thriller about poetry and fascism



In the 1930s a young poet and patriot, Richard Jameson falls in love with the socialist daughter of Sir Henry Exton, a powerful media mogul. But in courting her, he finds himself embroiled in a fascist struggle for influence over the heart of the establishment. After Thatcher sweeps to victory during the 1980s, Jameson is on the verge of being rescued from obscurity, but finds the ghosts of his fascist past have not been laid to rest. Sean O'Brien's new play dramatises the literary history and politics of the 1930s and 1980s and asks chilling questions about the historical possibility of a fascist Britain.