Join us this May for a series of events exploring the life and legacy of Samuel Pepys in all his fullness. Our Annual Commemoration Service & Lecture, a World Premiere of a dramatic performance bringing to life Samuel and Elizabeth Pepys and a talk by award winning Pepys scholar Professor Kate Loveman.
Thursday 28th May 2026 – 12pm-1pm – The Annual Pepys Commemoration Service. Special Guest Speaker: Guy De la Bédoyère – The Confessions of Samuel Pepys
All are welcome to attend this service at which we will be joined by members of The Samuel Pepys Club. Following the service, this year’s address will be given by Guy De la Bédoyère, who will talk about his book ‘The Confessions of Samuel Pepys’ which focuses on Pepys’s controversial private life for a contemporary readership, by charting his varied and complex relationships with women. The service is free to attend but please register at this link.
Saturday 30th May 2026 – 7.00pm – “Incendiary” – Samuel Pepys in Words and Music by Hambletts Productions (World Premiere)
This unique and very special performance takes place under Samuel Pepys’ and his wife, Elizabeth’s, gaze, in the church where they both worshipped and lie buried. Pepys’ inimitable words are brought to life by Edward Bennett, woven with Grace Davidson’s sublime soprano. Music flows through Pepys’ writing, from the earthy Broadside Ballads of London’s streets to the Baroque. In this production, music and words combine to illuminate Pepys’ story with an emotional impact that has to be experienced.
Samuel Pepys: Edward Bennett
Elizabeth Pepys/Voice: Grace Davidson
Lute: Daniel Murphy
Adapted by: Deirdre Shields
Director: Judy Reaves
Presented by Hambletts in association with Harmonic Artists & MW Music and Artists. Tickets £32.52-43.36 including booking fee available at this link.
Tuesday 2nd June 2026 – 6.00pm-7.00pm – St Olave Lecture – The Strange History of Samuel Pepys’s Diary. Tickets £5 includes a glass of wine.
Professor Kate Loveman joins us to talk about her award-winning book exploring how Samuel Pepys’s Diary has been received through the ages, since its first publication 200 years ago. Tickets £5 available at this link.
