Impetuous Nero has lost all restraint: bored with being loved, he wants to be feared. Agrippina, widow of Emperor Claudius, has paved the way for her son Nero to succeed to the throne ahead of his step-brother Britannicus. But as his taste for power grows, Nero begins to slip from his mother's control. Britannicus's life is threatened and Rome moves ever closer to the edge. Jean Racine's classic play Britannicus is a chilling study of the emergence of a monster. Timberlake Wertenbaker's translation premiered at Wilton's Music Hall, London, in October 2011.

This groundbreaking work established Neo-Palladianism as the national style, overthrowing Baroque trends and anointing Inigo Jones as the British Vitruvius. Its 300 illustrations include facades, grounds, exteriors, and perspective views.