Event Info
Age Guidance: 6+ years
Running Time: TBC
Love, Life and Sisterhood
“She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow, I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself.” ― Cassandra Austen
Jane Austen, that most perceptive observer of the human spirit, is loved by us through her inimitable characters. We feel we know who Jane was. She was at once the independent-minded Elizabeth Bennett, the imaginative Emma Woodhouse and perhaps the selfless Elinor Dashwood.
Jane and her beloved sister Cassandra enjoyed a vivid correspondence, covering life events and their related emotions over numerous years. Cassandra destroyed many of these letters, leaving us only fragments with which to build a portrait of Jane.
In her life, as well as her books, sisterhood is a central theme. The ups and downs of female friendship and relationships form some of the most touching and humorous prose written by the author.
In this recital of words by Jane Austen, illuminated by music she loved, by composers including Gluck, Handel, Haydn, Schubert, popular songs of the time, and extracts from Jonathan Dove’s underscoring of the letters, My Beloved Cassandra, we explore and celebrate an extraordinary life.
Alex Kingston, actor, A magnificent Prospero, Guardian
Claire Booth, soprano, An actor-singer who can raise the dramatic heat as soon as she enters the stage, Opera Now
Andrew Matthews-Owen, piano, An immaculate accompanist, BBC Music magazine
Access Needs: Please contact us to book if you have any access needs that will require suitable seating or if you need a designated wheelchair space.
