Peter Whelan's The School of Night Cancels West End Run

The planned West End mounting of Peter Whelan's The School of Night, which was scheduled to begin performances at the Comedy Theatre on February 16, has been called off. No reason for the cancellation was provided by the production.

The School of the Night, which takes its title from a phrase in William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, examines the 16th-century intellectual circle that counted Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd and Sir Walter Raleigh as members. The play investigates the mystery surrounding Marlowe's death in 1593 against the backdrop of a politically and religiously divided England. Was he really killed in a barroom brawl, as the history books say? Or do the rumors of espionage, atheism and homosexuality hint at something more complicated in his ultimate undoing?

The School of the Night was to have been directed by Bill Alexander and starred Christopher Eccleston as Marlowe. A statement issued by the production read: "The producers are hoping that a production of the play take place in the future and in the meantime they are discussing other projects with Christopher Eccleston."