Alisons House

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER - SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER

It is 18 years since Alison Stanhope, the country's foremost poet, died. Now the house must be sold. But the house holds secrets. Is it right for the family to protect itself and its past or does Alison belong to everyone?

Did Alison sacrifice the man she loved for the sake of her family's reputation? And who do such sacrifices benefit? The struggles in the play are set in America in 1899, on the cusp of the twentieth century in which very different values will come to prevail.

Inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson, this play won Susan Glaspell the 1931 Pulitzer Prize and our production develops our relationship with the author after productions of The Verge, Inheritors and the recent Glaspell Season, which included the hugely successful Chains of Dew.

The cast includes: Georgine Anderson, Mark Arends, Nicholas Gadd, Catherine Harvey, Jennifer Higham, Dudley Hinton, Kieron Jecchinis, Grainne Keenan, Diana Payan, Emma Pallant and Christopher Ravenscroft.

RUNNING TIME: First half, 1 hr 20 mins
Interval, 15 mins
Second half, 45 mins
REVIEWS

'Jo Combes's immaculate production...like all the best American drama, it combines acute understanding of the dynamics of family life with an ability to pierce the heart,' The Guardian ****

'Terrific play...Jo Combes's excellent production', The Times ****

'Glaspell's play is a haunted house alive with hushed intensity', TimeOut ***

'The cast are near pitch-perfect... a family drama that pulses with subtle, shifting dynamics', WhatsOnStage ****

'Alison's House is a brilliant play and the Orange Tree's stylish, understated revival is more than a match for it', Richmond and Twickenham Times.

'Even-handed and humane, Alison's House is another timely and thought-provoking find from The Orange Tree', London Theatre Blog.