Our Shows & Projects

Dear Elizabeth

“I hope you aren’t thinking that I am a) dead b) annoyed. I’m neither, but I did have flu.”

Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell were two of America’s most brilliant poets. Throughout their lifetime, they wrote over 400 letters to each other; spanning decades, continents, political eras. Their connection was messy and profound, platonic yet romantic, intense and intangible. A love that resists easy definition.

These are their words.

 

‘This is as live as theatre can come’  WhatsOnStage

17 Jan - 9 Feb 2019
1 Sep - 18 Sep 2021

by Sarah Ruhl directed by Ellen McDougall

‘Dear Elizabeth was a thrilling theatrical experience to both participate in, and to watch the other performances. It was a heady cocktail of memory, poetry, surprise encounter, desire, longing, delicious playfulness and searing heartbreak. A love letter to love letters’  

Tamsin Greig (2019 production)

 

Two different performers took the roles of Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell for each performance. They will meet each other, the audience, and the story of Robert and Elizabeth at the same time. They won’t know how the story ends: they will discover it with the audience. The performers include:

2019 Production:

  • 17 Jan – Thalissa Teixeira & Sam Spruell
  • 18 Jan – Shalisha James-Davis & Emun Elliott
  • 19 Jan – Lucy McCormick & Annabel Baldwin
  • 21 Jan – Caoilfhionn Dunne & Joseph Akubeze
  • 22 Jan – Jade Anouka & Jonjo O’Neill
  • 23 Jan – Nina Bowers & Phoebe Fox
  • 24 Jan – Tamsin Greig & Angus Wright
  • 25 Jan – Travis Alabanza & Charlie Josephine
  • 26 Jan matinee – Amelia Stubberfield & Angela Clerkin
  • 26 Jan evening – Christopher Green & Chris Brett Bailey
  • 28 Jan – Temi- Wilkey & Seiriol Davies
  • 29 Jan – Emma Dennis Edwards & Elizabeth Chan
  • 30 Jan matinee – Jo Clifford & Paul Bazely
  • 30 Jan evening – Linda Broughton & Jon Foster
  • 31 Jan – Kwame Owusu & Frankie Henry
  • 1 Februrary – Samuel West & Jo Horton
  • 2 Feb matinee – Emma Frankland & Neil D’Souza
  • 2 Feb evening – Tim Crouch & Nadia Albina
  • 4 Feb – Lois Chimimba & Sule Rimi
  • 5 Feb – Sue MacLaine & Paul Ready
  • 6 Feb matinee – Lucy Bairstow & Gabby Wong
  • 6 Feb evening – Shane Zaza & Amanda Hale
  • 7 Feb – Chris Thorpe & Kayla Meikle
  • 8 Feb – Lucy Ellinson & Leo Bill
  • 9 Feb matinee – Isabel Adomakoh Young & Helena Lymbery
  • 9 Feb evening – Dickie Beau & Hattie Morahan 
  • 11 Feb evening –  Anjana Vasan & Tobias Menzies
  • 12 Feb evening – Luke Norris & Eileen Walsh
  • 13 Feb matinee – Kwong Loke & Annie Siddons
  • 13  Feb evening – Michael Shaeffer & Martina Laird
  • 14 Feb evening –Susan Wokoma & Hammed Animashaun

 

2021 Production:

  • 1 Sep Angelina Chudi and Jacob Seelochan
  • 2 Sep Jimena Larraguivel and Pete MacHale
  • 3 Sep Mei Mac and Justice Ritchie
  • 4 Sep Jennifer Dixon and Mika Onyx Johnson
  • 6 Sep Waj Ali and Samuelle Durojaiye
  • 7 Sep Martins Imhangbe and Roberta Livingston
  • 8 Sep Catherine Chalk and Arthur Hughes
  • 9 Sep Rufus Love and Anoushka Lucas
  • 10 Sep Eric Kofi Abrefa and Deborah Bahi
  • 11 Sep Pepa Duarte and David Moorst
  • 14 Sep Saffia Kavaz and Michelle Tiwo
  • 15 Sep Shannon Tarbet and Saskia Craft-Stanley
  • 16 Sep Esh Alladi and Lauren Ziebart
  • 17 Sep Kae Alexander and Montel Bowen
  • 18 Sep Joshua Griffin and Minhee Yeo