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Starring Paterson Joseph as Severus, Adjoa Andoh as Julia his wife, and David Mitchell as the physician, this is a non-audience comedy drama with strong characters and a richly evoked atmosphere of the little told tale of the time that the United Kingdom (as we know it now) had African rulers.

Libyan born Severus, his Syrian wife Julia and their two strapping young sons Antoninus and Geta were celebrated across the empire as the perfect royal family. A symbol of the civility and harmony of Rome. So when they came to York in 209AD, many were amazed that the most powerful man in the world had chosen to call these shores "home". After all, Britannia was the centre of nothing; a troublesome backwater that had never been truly pacified; in the eyes of every cosmopolitan Roman citizen, it was the arse-end of the world. So why were they here?

Our story is told through the cloudy recollections of Severus to his Christian physician, Sammonicus , as the emperor ails in bed, the fetid smell of his bandaged gouty foot filling the air. Through his ill-tempered haze he slowly pieces together where he is, why and, most importantly, how he can hang on to his foot.

Written by Paterson Joseph (Peep Show, Noughts and Crosses, Vigil) and David Reed (Penny Dreadfuls sketch group and author of 10 comedy plays for Radio 4).

This programme was first broadcast in July 2022.

Paterson Joseph... Septimius Severus
Adjoa Andoh...Julia
David Mitchell...Sammonicus
Cyril Nri...Gaius
John Macmillan...Antoninus
Ben Scheck...Geta
Alix Dunmore..Silver Leg
David Reed...Governor Senecio
Producer...Julia McKenzie
Production Coordinators...Beverly Tagg and Katie Baum
A 91热爆 Studios Production