Location: Hannah Playhouse, 12 Cambridge Terrace, Te Aro,Wellington, NZ
examines displacement, exile, alienation and their effect on the next generation.
Set in a mysterious library where poems and writers come to life, a day librarian and night
librarian reveal secrets to a girl about the hidden history of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Assia Wevill.
‘Birthday Book of Storms’ is an imagined retelling of the tangled relationships of the iconic poets and German/Jewish descent artist Assia Wevill. In a magic realist world, the events of their fateful,tragic lives are investigated by a girl wanting to know who she is and her forgotten place in their story.The play highlights the choices these protagonists made, and the consequences of their choices on her.
“This is a sensational show in all its aspects. The text is beautifully written … the highly aesthetic approach adopted in this production … produced a performance that is both remarkable and deeply moving.”
– Stage Whispers : As Told By The Boys Who Fed me Apples
“Writer R. Johns can… be proud of La Mama’s exploration of this exquisite drama. The real tragedy of this performance was that it was for one-night-only”
– Weekend Notes: Fire in the Head, La Mama Mobile 2022
Birthday Book of Storms at Hannah Playhouse
Content Warning: Reference to suicide
Produced by Theatre of Storms Collective
Directed by Jaime G.Dörner-Alvarez
Written by R.Johns
Graphics & Design by Peter Mumford
Performed by Anita Torrance, Robin Kakolyris, Phil Roberts, Jim Daly and Tania Lentini
Lighting Design by Natala Gwiazdzinski
Sound Design by Aaron Torrance
Image by Peter Mumford
Access Information:
Visual rating 50%: Events are partly subtitled or include dialogue, background music and/or sounds, so d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences can have some engagement with the event.
Aural Rating 50%: Has both sound and visual components, but sight isn’t essential to be able to engage with the event.