A dense work of early English prose, strewn throughout with serious and teasing marginalia from its author, might not be the most likely candidate for stage adaptation – but this project has just been undertaken by a team of artists and academics in Sheffield. William Baldwin’s "Beware the Cat", written in 1553, will be performed in September as part of the university’s 2018 Festival of the Mind.

Rachel Stenner and Frances Babbage discuss Baldwin's unique text.