Seabright Productions and LMP present

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.

Now on UK tour - also available in 2011.

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)