Synopsis
Mrs Orwell
Published by Oberon
3 Male 2 Female
Based on actual events, Mrs Orwell is the story of the marriage and literary partnership of George Orwell and Sonia Brownell
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, a 30 year old assistant magazine editor
REVIEWS
'Recounting a relatively unknown episode shortly before the death of a literary great, Mrs Orwell focuses on assistant magazine editor Sonia Brownell. While George Orwell languishes in a hospital bed with tuberculosis, Brownell becomes a frequent visitor, only to be presented with a startling marriage proposal ..." ~ The Stage
"The play does provide an intriguing portrait of Orwell himself ... [and] skilfully conjures the author's eccentric brilliance, arguing with publishers one minute and slurping tea from a saucer the next. Convinced he has three more novels in him, the man behind Animal Farm and 1984 rages against the dying of the light. He is rictus with anguish throughout, his hospital room a suitably Orwellian prison. This pain and sense of literary loss provide the real heart of the drama, as we witness the premature end of a brilliant mind" ~ Time Out