THE first production of 2017 by the Chesil Theatre, Winchester, is Blood and Ice, a thoughtful play by the Scottish Poet Laureate, Liz Lochhead.

Blood and Ice tells the story of the stormy night in 1816 in Switzerland when four young romantics amused themselves by having a competition to write a spine-chilling tale. That evening was the beginning of the creation of Frankenstein or Prometheus Unbound by Mary Shelley.

The two men were Byron and Shelley then England's most famous - even notorious - poets. Mary, had eloped with Shelley two years earlier, even though he was still married. Claire Clairmont, her step sister, accompanied them and became infatuated with Byron.

The play explores the relationships between the two couples revealing many of the ideas which influenced the poetry of the Romantic poets and the novels of Mary Shelley. It also describes their unconventional way of life which so shocked conventional society.

Director, Alec Walters, said: "This immersive piece of theatre with its atmospheric soundtrack, challenging effects and gripping subject matter make it a play in which audiences can really lose themselves."

Blood and Ice runs from tomorrow for a week.

Tickets are available from chesiltheatre.org.uk or 0333 666 3366.