A PLAY starring and directed by Oscar winner Ralph Fiennes, legendary science fiction thriller War of the Worlds and live science show Brainiac are among the highlights of the inaugural season for MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton's brand new cultural hub.

Theatre bosses at the venue, in Guildhall Square, have announced six performances of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets starring and directed by acclaimed actor Ralph Fiennes, in July 2021.

Compelling, moving and symphonic, Four Quartets offers four interwoven meditations on the nature of time, faith, and the quest for spiritual enlightenment. Mostly written during WWII, the four parts (Burnt Norton, East Coker, The Dry Salvages and Little Gidding) were the culminating achievement of Eliot’s Nobel Prize winning literary career.

The season will open on May 28 with Rambert2, one of the world’s most adventurous dance companies, performing a double bill to a socially distanced audience.

Early June sees the tour of War of the Worlds land at MAST. Inspired by H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel and Orson Welles’ classic radio play, this legendary science fiction thriller is playfully reimagined for our era of Fake News and ‘alternative facts’ by award-winning theatre company Rhum and Clay.

The most outrageous live science show, Brainiac, with exploding dustbins, combusting microwaves, live daredevil stunts and all the experiments you‘re not allowed to do at home will be staged at the end of the summer holidays and is suitable for children aged six plus.

Family fun continues with a world premiere of a musical adaptation of the book Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World in November, featuring fascinating facts about some of the most amazing women who changed the world we live in.

The year will be rounded off with MAST Mayflower Studios’ own production of Peter Pan, An Awfully Big Musical Adventure which will be performed by a cast of local young people all under 19 and opens on December 18.

All productions go on sale to the general public on Thursday April 22, but tickets can be purchased on Monday April 19 with a membership, available from mayflowerstudios.org.uk.