In The Confessions, British playwright and director Alexander Zeldin sketches a portrait of a full life, from birth until death. The work is based on the life of his mother: from her birth in Australia in 1943 to her growing up working class, seeking an education, then starting over as a divorced woman in London and establishing a family – the character of Alice lives through the social changes of the second half of the 20th and early 21st century. Her loves become the common thread of both a personal and a collective emancipation. In short psychological scenes, the cast sensitively focuses on selected moments from a life story spanning almost eight decades. Following his successful Vienna debut (with LOVE and Faith, Hope and Charity in 2021), Zeldin now returns with the world premiere of The Confessions.
Direction Alexander Zeldin Set design, Costumes Marg Horwell Movement direction, Choreography Imogen Knight With Joe Bannister, Amelda Brown, Jerry Killick, Lilit Lesser, Brian Lipson, Eryn Jean Norvill, Pamela Rabe, Gabrielle Scawthorn, Yasser Zadeh Light design Paule Constable With music by Yannis Philippakis Sound design Josh Anio Grigg Casting Jacob Sparrow Associate director Joanna Pidcock Dramaturgical support Sasha Milavic Davies Voice director Cathleen McCarron Production management Faye Merralls
Production A Zeldin Company / Compagnie A Zeldin A commission by National Theatre of Great Britain (London), RISING Melbourne, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg Coproduction
Wiener Festwochen, Comédie de Genève, Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Centro Cultural de Belém, Théâtre de Liège, Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Athens Epidaurus Festival, La Fondazione Piccolo Teatro di Milano– Teatro d’Europa, Adelaide Festival, Centre Dramatique National de Normandie-Rouen With the support of Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Île-de-France (France)
Premiere June 2023, Wiener Festwochen
Wiener Festwochen 2021 LOVE and Faith, Hope and Charity
