9 – 26 October 2024
Theatre on the Square, Sandton
One week to go until My Name Is Lucy Barton is on stage in Joburg!
Johannesburg – October 2nd, 2024
There’s just one week to go until Joburg audiences get to experience the multiple award-winning one-woman play My Name Is Lucy Barton and to see for themselves why the Cape Town audiences have been raving about the play that explores the delicate threads that connect us to our family and past.
My Name is Lucy Barton is heading to Joburg, opening next week, and on stage for a limited season at Theatre on the Square in Sandton from Wednesday 9th – Saturday 26th October 2024.
The production stars multiple award-nominated actor Julie-Anne McDowell (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Revlon Girl) who takes the audience on an emotional journey of memories and reconciliation.
The play is directed by multiple-award winning Charmaine Weir-Smith (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Train Driver). Design is by Kieran McGregor (Expelled).
Presented by How Now Brown Cow the multiple award-winning My Name Is Lucy Barton is written by Elizabeth Strout and adapted by Rona Munro. It is the story of a writer reckoning with the legacy of a scarred family life who is coming to terms with the cost of her childhood and the rewards of her art.
Here are some of the reviews and comments from Cape Town media and audiences where the play is currently on stage at The Baxter Studio until October 5th:
‘As How Now Brown Cow presents us with their new piece of theatre, we are reminded of their commitment to excellence in everything that they do. The SA premier of MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, starring Julie-Anne McDowell, is such a piece…..the frail bond of the two main characters as McDowell moves effortlessly between mother and daughter. McDowell had the audience spellbound” Broadway World
‘McDowell delivers a consummate performing,… Kudos to Charmaine Weir-Smith’s direction in keeping the pace revved up at a clip… compelling theatre… My Name is Lucy Barton, the play, South Africa 2024, is a very special piece of theatre.’ Robyn Cohen, The Cape Robyn
‘Julie-Anne McDowell WAS Lucy. Every bit of her – an authentic, intense & vivacious actress…’ Well done Charmaine-Weir Smith – excellent direction. Thanks HOW NOW BROWN COW PRODUCTIONS for bringing us thought provoking theatre. Don’t miss this…one of my top plays this year…” Marguerite van Wyk
‘In many ways, the story of Lucy Barton is reflected in all of our lives…… Julie-Anne McDowell was amazing to watch… What I really loved about this show was that it was about a woman finding her way in the world’ Jozi Nupen, Sam Says
‘It’s a beautifully moving story, one that’ll have you captivated from beginning to end. Julie-Anne McDowell delivers a brilliant performance and this really just is a must-see.’ Karisa Nicholls, Cape Town My Love
‘‘Charmaine Weir-Smith keeps the pace flowing steadily as Julie-Anne McDowell inhabits the stage with confidence and grace.’
Karen Rutter, Weekend Special
‘Julie-Anne McDowell is trefseker in haar vertolking van ma en dogter….My Name is Lucy Barton is teater wat empatie ontlok, wat die kyker pantser en jou in ander se skoene laat loop.’
Laetitia Pople, Netwerk 24 / Die Burger
‘will move you deeply……you have a chance to watch a theatrical delight……go to see ‘MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON’ Brian van Rheede
Longlisted for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2016, the BAILEYS WOMENS PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016 and a #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout shows the most tender relationship of all – the one between a mother and daughter.
My Name Is Lucy Barton has been adapted for the stage as a one woman show by acclaimed TV, Film and Theatre writer Rona Munro (winner of the Evening Standard Award, NOOK Award and the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award). It opened at The Bridge Theatre in London in 2018 starring Laura Linney who reprised her role on Broadway in 2020.
My Name Is Lucy Barton – A synopsis
Lucy Barton wakes after an operation to discover – much to her surprise – her estranged mother at the foot of her bed. Over the course of her mother’s visit, she and Lucy seem to reconnect, but just below the surface lies the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life.
Lucy’s encounter with her mother brings into sharp focus her troubled childhood in rural Illinois and her current life in New York City. Knitting these powerful memories together, Lucy begins to come to terms with her past and her future as a writer.
My Name is Lucy Barton is a story for anyone who has questioned how family defines oneself. It is a powerful narrative of hope and triumph about a woman who finds her truth and reclaims her story.
My Name is Lucy Barton will be on stage at Theatre On The Square in Sandton, Johannesburg for a limited season from Wednesday 9th – Saturday 26th October 2024.
Performances are Tuesdays – Fridays @ 19h30, Saturdays @ 16h00 & 19h30 and Sundays @ 15h00.
The show is 80 minutes in duration, with no interval, and carries a suggested age-appropriate restriction of no under 12s.
Tickets are R230 per person, with discounts available for senior citizens, students, scholars over 12 and groups of 10 or more. Bookings are via Computicket .
***BOOK CLUB SPECIAL! Buy 10 tickets for the price of 6 and enjoy 2 complimentary bottles of wine to share before the performance. TO TAKE UP THIS SPECIAL OFFER, MAIL info@hownowbrowncow.co.za
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My Name is Lucy Barton is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
My Name is Lucy Barton was originally produced on Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club, Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, Barry Grove, Executive Producer, The London Theatre Company, Nicholas Hytner, Nick Starr, in association with Penguin Random House Audio on January 15, 2020.
My Name is Lucy Barton was originally produced by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr for the London Theatre Company at the Bridge Theatre in June 2018.
Photo Credit: Daniel Rutland Manners
