The Multiple Award-winning Play, My Name Is Lucy Barton, Comes to Joburg

The multiple award-winning play, My Name Is Lucy Barton is heading to Joburg for a limited season at Theatre on the Square in Sandton from 9 to 27 October 2024. The production recently premiered at the Hilton Arts Festival in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands and garnered standing ovations and rave reviews. We break down everything you need to know.

A woman unravels an intersection of family, identity, and talent

This is the story of a writer reckoning with the legacy of a scarred family life, coming to terms with the cost of her childhood and the rewards of her art. Lucy wakes after an operation to find her estranged mother at the foot of her bed. Although the pair seem to reconnect fine, just below the surface lies tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life.

This encounter unveils more about her troubled childhood in rural Illinois and her life as an established writer in New York City. Knitting these powerful memories together, Lucy comes to terms with her past and future as a writer.

‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ is a story for anyone questioning to what extent family defines oneself. It is a powerful narrative of hope and triumph about a woman who finds her truth and reclaims her story.

Why you should see My Name is Lucy Barton

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016, the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016, and a #1 New York Times Bestseller, Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout shows the tender relationship 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 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award). It opened at The Bridge Theatre in London in 2018, starring Hollywood actress Laura Linney, who reprised her role on Broadway in 2020.

Legendary local actress Julie-Anne McDowell stars under the award-winning direction of Charmaine Weir Smith

The production is headlined by multiple award-nominated actor, Julie-Anne McDowell who last wowed theatre-goers with ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ and ‘Revlon Girl’. Director Charmaine Weir-Smith returns to the rehearsal room to weave this coming-of-age story.

The set design is conceived by Kieran McGregor (‘Expelled’). ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’ is presented by How Now Brown Cow, written by Elizabeth Strout and adapted by Rona Munro.

How to book tickets

Cost: R230pp, with discounts available for senior citizens, students, scholars over 12 and groups of 10 or more. Book via Computicket. No under 12s allowed.

When: Running from 9 to 27 October. Tuesday to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 4pm and 7:30pm; Sunday, 3pm. The show is 80 minutes long with no interval
Where: Theatre On The Square, Nelson Mandela Square, West St, Sandown, Sandton