Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James star in Penelope Skinner’s searingly funny and passionate new play, directed by Ian Rickson.
Elaine (Kristin Scott Thomas) a reclusive and talented actress, disappears in mysterious circumstances. 30 years later, she finally feels ready to tell her story – summoning Kate, a young film executive (Lily James), to her remote Cornish home to assist with her glorious comeback.
But who really controls the stories we tell, and how we get to tell them? Will these women own their narrative, or will it be swept away from them at any given moment?
A story for our times, playing for a strictly limited season from 17 Oct – 23 Dec at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
__Assisted Performances__
Captioned - 18th November 2.30pm
Audio-Described - 30th November, 7.30pm
BSL Interpreted - TBC
Skinner’s sharply observed writing is full of humour, wit and fragments of poetry. Director Ian Rickson never rushes the sprawling, stately scenes, allowing plenty of time for the endearingly flawed characters to grow on us, and for doubts to fester – doubt over the truthfulness of Elaine’s version of events, and over the motivations behind Kate’s ardent support of the project.
Very occasionally, a play comes along that is so weirdly inept that you don’t quite know how to respond. If you were to stumble across Penelope Skinner’s new drama in a thinly populated corner of the Edinburgh Fringe, you would put it down as an undergrad experiment. To find it in the West End, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James in the lead roles, is bizarre.
2023 | West End |
West End |
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