When Hannah Sullivan’s debut collection Three Poems won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2018, Sinead Morrissey, chair of the judges, observed: “A star is born. I couldn’t be more delighted if I had won it myself.”
Taken together, the three poems seem to tell a single (though fragmentary) narrative of a young English woman living in America who returns home when her father dies. Ms. Sullivan is currently completing a fourth long poem, which feels like a continuation of her earlier work, provisionally titled ‘Tenants’. It addresses, among other things, her encounter with the Grenfell Tower disaster, and it is as intensely dramatic and propulsive as her debut.
Using music, soundscapes and visual imagery, the performance will attempt to match the exhilarating force and variety of these thrilling poems. The part of Hannah Sullivan will be read by Denise Gough and Ria Zmitrowicz.
Dead Poets Live have established a cult following at The Coronet Theatre for their dramatised readings of classic poetry, attracting some of Britain’s finest actors including Charlotte Rampling, Miranda Richardson and Tom Hiddleston. All proceeds from their evenings go to the charity Safe Passage.
£30, £25
£15 under 30s
Concessions available
Running Time:
1 hr 15 mins (no interval)
Presented by Dead Poets Live
Devised and supported by T. S. Eliot Foundation
Denise Gough astonished audiences and critics in London and New York with her performance in People, Places & Things, for which she was awarded the Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2016 and the Obie Award in 2018. She returned to the National Theatre in 2017, and won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in the revival of Angels in America. TV work includes shooting for the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel, Guerrilla and the title role in Conor McPherson’s mini-series, Paula. Films include Colette, Steel Country, 71 and Jimmy’s Hall.
This year Ria Zmitrowicz wowed audiences and critics at The Almeida, first in Rebecca Frecknall’s staging of Three Sisters, and then opposite Juliet Stevenson in The Doctor. Previous theatre includes X, Gun Dog, Bad Roads (Royal Court), Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead/Trafalgar) and Chapel Street. Television includes: Three Girls; Through the Gates; The Midnight Beast. Film includes Teen Spirit; Kill Your Friends. In January of next year she is due to star at the National Theatre opposite Maxine Peake in Lucy Kirkwood’s new play, The Welkin.
