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"and, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better"
George Eliot is brought to bold and dramatic life, through Eliot’s novels, letters, journals, poetry and journalism.
The second richest woman of her day (after Queen Victoria), Eliot’s great works – Middlemarch, The Mill on the Floss, Adam Bede – and clear vision resonate as powerfully today.
With each performance starring a guest leading actor (Harriet Walter, Hermione Norris, Sally Phillips, Adjoa Andoh) alongside acclaimed singer/songwriter, SuRie, Eliot's story weaves around a dazzlingly creative music programme from David Le Page, and in tune with George Eliot’s radicalism, features music by 21st century female singer-songwriters including Kate Bush, Florence + the Machine and FKA twigs.
Players from Orchestra of the Swan perform with SuRie. Internationally renowned for classical, pop and musical theatre, SuRie also won the Offie for Lead Performance in a Musical in 2024 for her portrayal of Annie in Annie Get Your Gun.
Harriet Walter*
Hermione Norris*
Sally Phillips*
Adjoa Andoh*
SuRie
Written by
Deirdre Shields
Directed by
Judy Reaves
Music Arranged and Directed by
David Le Page & SuRie
"The writer Virginia Woolf famously praised Middlemarch as being “one of the few English novels written for grown-up people”. She’d be pleased to know that George Eliot in Words and Music is indeed a play for grown-up people. It really is an intelligent piece of literary theatre crafted and presented by people who care about words and music."
Dr Diana Carroll, Artshub
"SuRie's singing is worth the ticket alone"
Cheryl Markosky, Broadway World
photos by Karla Gowlett, PhotoPerspective
*Harriet Walter, Adjoa Andoh, Hermione Norris and Sally Phillips appear subject to availability
GEORGE Eliot in Words and Music premiered at St Mary’s Guildhall, Coventry on Saturday 16 November 2024, commissioned by St Mary’s Guildhall with thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
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