The Wife of Willesden

The Wife of Willesden is a celebration of community and local legends, of telling a good story and living a life worth telling.

The Guardian

Glorious…Zadie Smith and Indhu Rubasingham have concocted a stunning piece of freewheeling stagecraft. Clare Perkins is magnificent.

The Times of London

A proper local legend, Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the local West London pub—there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables. And her love life? It’s an epic poem. They call her the Wife of Willesden. Join her for an evening that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Winner of the 2022 Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, critically acclaimed and multi award-winning best-selling author Zadie Smith transforms an excerpt from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales into the unbelievable—and unforgettable.

Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham
A Kiln Theatre Production

Production Sponsor
The Linda Hammett Ory & Andrew Ory Charitable Trust

Additional Production Support
Brenda and Kevin Jarrell

All Discounts

Standard tickets start at $30, and discounts are available to students and ticket-buyers under the age of 25, Blue Star families, EBT card holders, seniors, Harvard faculty and staff, and others.

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