Hardy's life and work to be celebrated in unique performance at Stonehenge

The novelist and poet Thomas Hardy was fascinated by Stonehenge, using what he described as "the temple of the winds" as a setting for one of his most striking scenes and as a lifelong inspiration, a pathway back into ancient times.

- Steven Morris

In what is being billed as a unique performance, the life and work of Hardy is to be showcased at the great stone circle in Wiltshire on 28 May as part of Salisbury international arts festival.

The performers, including Anton Lesser, best known for appearances in Game of Thrones and The Crown, will be reading from Hardy's works and depicting scenes from his life in front of the stones as the audience listens through headphones.

An orchestra will play music, ranging from the sort of folk tunes Hardy may have been familiar with to pieces by Gustav Holst and Peter Warlock.

Lesser said A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy in Words and Music was full of "love, life and laughter", and said it meant he could say he had done a gig with "the Stones".

It is believed to be the first time that a performance incorporating Hardy's life and work has been staged at Stonehenge.