Mrs Orwell

Following a hugely successful sell-out run at the Old Red Lion this summer, Tony Cox’s Mrs Orwell, starring Cressida Bonas and Peter Hamilton Dyer, will be transferring to Southwark Playhouse for a limited run this September. This exciting play is based on actual events.

University College Hospital, London, 1949. George Orwell is in the last chapter of his life with a severe case of Tuberculosis. He still believes he has at least three novels in him so to keep his morale up he promptly proposes to friend Sonia Brownell (played by Bonas), a 30 year old assistant magazine editor. When Sonia learns that she is his only hope, she must decide whether to succumb to the advances of Lucien Freud or enter a platonic marriage with one of the country’s most renowned writers.

The production explores the private side of one of the most public icons of the 20th century. This theme of public and private contrasts is reflected in the staging which reveals a hospital corridor behind Room 65, the hospital room where the action takes place.