Linda Marlowe

Miss Havisham’s Expectations

Performed by Linda Marlowe. Directed by Di Sherlock.

To coincide with the Dickens bicentenary, Linda Marlowe presents a new solo show featuring one of his most iconic female characters, Miss Havisham – the jilted bride forever wearing her wedding dress, alongside the stopped clock and uneaten cake. Desperate to set the record straight about her story, “Norma” Havisham complains about her creator, ‘a man who liked to play God with his female characters but had little understanding of them’.

Drawing on the text of ‘Great Expectations’ as well as original material by director Di Sherlock, this tour de force performance sees Linda Marlowe embody many cherished characters from Dickens, with an ingenious new approach to Havisham’s story. This is both an engaging celebration of Dickens and an insightful fresh look at one of his most enduringly popular and resonant novels.

What the papers say…

 ‘Linda Marlowe dissects Miss Havisham’s Expectations with burning eyes, savage cheekbones, a singed and stained wedding dress and mad grey dreadlocks. You’re afraid to take your eyes off her in case she attacks, like a cougar… Her scary hag-dancing is riveting… I long one day to see a duel between her Havisham and Simon Callow’s Dickens.’
 The Times (full review here)

‘This hi-energy production should have no problem in travelling internationally as a compelling cultural ambassador for Team GB Drama.’
‘Must See’ The Stage (full review here)

 


The World’s Wife

Adapted from the poems of Carol Ann Duffy. Performed by Linda Marlowe. Directed by Di Sherlock. Video by Anna McManus. Lighting by Michael Nabarro.

The World's Wife with Linda Marlowe, photo by Eric Richmond

A new stage version of the acclaimed poems that imagine the wives’ perspective of famous men through the ages. Following an incredibly successful premiere at the Edinburgh fringe 2009, Linda Marlowe’s latest show is touring the UK throughout 2010 following a sell-out London season at Trafalgar Studios.

From Mrs Faust and Frau Freud to Queen Kong and Mrs Midas, this delightful show slices through history and myth, whilst also casting an astute glance over the modern world. Laced with dark humour and acerbic wit, this passionate exposé will enthral lovers of Duffy’s poems and newcomers alike.

Linda Marlowe has enjoyed great acclaim for her previous solo work including Berkoff’s Women, which toured internationally and played West End seasons. In this new show, her virtuoso performance of Duffy’s brilliant and often controversial verse encompasses 18 of the 30 poems from the original collection.

What the papers say…

‘Sometimes shocking, always unpredictable, the poems here are of complex individuals, not misandrist stereotypes. Performed at this level, these dames will have you dashing to the poetry library.’
Metro (full review here)

‘A series of monologues performed with awesome style and confidence by the splendid Linda Marlowe, tells of history’s forgotten women, fictional or real or re-realised and reinterpreted, all with wit, passion and a jaunty modern heart and a lovingly cynical take on men. So we get Mrs Faust, Mrs Darwin. A female King Kong. The forgotten hunchbacked wife, so wronged and vengeful, of Quasimodo. The Kray sisters. The (greedy, horny, not above compromise) “Beauty” who lay with her “Beast”. I particularly loved the idea of Eurydice, utterly happy being dead and fed up with the whining mimsy Orpheus, who thought he owned her just because he loved her: successfully beseeching him to turn around and look back so she can skip back to the underworld, free of the patronising bugger at last. Joyfully refreshing. Oh, do go and see this: it’s wonderful.’
The Observer (full review here)

‘Marlowe delivers the poems with tremendous verve and grace, dressing her choreography of characters in scarves, shawls and boots littered around the stage. It’s a remarkable solo performance, beautifully directed by Di Sherlock, and a genuine highlight of the Festival Fringe.’
 The Independent (full review here)

‘This sort of multi-character performance can so easily turn into a self-conscious display of acting virtuosity, but Marlowe never lets her concentration slip; even in the most outrageous caricature she draws deeply on emotions which are recognisable to us all. The combination of her consummate skill and Duffy’s potent words deliver a rich and rollicking ride through the dark and dangerous aspects of womankind. It is a recipe which leaves the audience with a powerful and unsettling sense of the complexity of the feminine in history, mythology, fairytale and real life.’
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ The Scotsman (full review here)

Details

Marketing samples

General Details
Running time 70 minutes, no interval
Optional post-show Q&A
Technical requirements Designed to play in end-on or semi-thrust theatre spaces. Basic theatrical lighting required. Company supplies laptop to operate video projection (also supplied) and to run sound design via venue PA.
Company size 1 on stage
2 on the road
Age guidance 12+
Genre One-woman drama
Show site theworldswife.com
Creatives Linda Marlowe (Performer) Di Sherlock (Director) Anna McManus (Video) Michael Nabarro (Lighting)

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