A new stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway is reimagining the classic novel as a multimedia solo show. The production, co-written by Jen Heyes and Kit Green, is currently running at Storyhouse in Chester before touring to Harlow, London, and Manchester.
Green performs all the characters, interacting with pre-recorded versions of herself on screen. The show uses video design by Monika Koeck and sound by Stephen Hull to evoke a June day in London, complete with birds, bees, and Big Ben chimes. Characters include Clarissa's husband Richard, old friend Sally Seton, maid Lucy, and war veteran Septimus, who suffers from PTSD.
The production blends cabaret and standup comedy elements, with Green singing and engaging the audience directly. While the show is visually powerful, it lacks the inner thoughts and shifting perspectives of Woolf's novel. The contrast between Green's onstage Clarissa and her on-screen Septimus is heightened by sepia colouring and a blue sea motif for the shell-shocked soldier.
The technology supports rather than overpowers Green's performance. However, the show is less effective when Green pauses to reflect on her relationship with the text or check in on the audience's wellbeing, becoming maudlin. Overall, it is an imaginative and singular spectacle, if not the Mrs Dalloway audiences may remember.
