Come along to Titchfield Festival Theatre to watch our double-header production in one night! The two plays are both written by British female playwrights and give an insight into two very different periods of our history, centuries apart.

Regina Monologues: by Jenny Wafer and Rebecca Russell

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived…” Admired, vilified, de-humanised. Three Catherines, two Annes and a Jane. Six women with one thing in common – marriage to a man called Henry - have passed into historical legend. Of course, it couldn’t happen these days...Six modern women have also married one man. Their lives are both separate and intertwined as they tell their stories from a room in which they have all once lived. Their experiences – miscarriage, love affairs, betrayal, and a shared loathing of all things ginger – are portrayed with humour, pathos and a great deal of wine. The plight of those sixteenth century women is personal, poignant and still relevant five hundred years on.

Lauren Kempton is directing Regina Monologues, her directorial début. Lauren said:

“Regina Monologues is full of humour and pathos, and also deals with some very sensitive themes. It highlights the actual lives of the wives of Henry, rather than Henry himself - often the wives are just known as someone who was married to him. It was therefore a great opportunity to highlight some real female presenting talent - women with their own stories and experiences.

“There are lots of connections to the characters’ real life historical counterparts and Titchfield was the perfect venue to perform this, the Acorn studio theatre being an intimate place where we can really feel immersed in the stories of these women.” 

Fen: by Caryl Churchill

Fen is a place where women and their families struggle for existence in a daunting landscape of fields and frustration. A strange and atmospheric, real and theatrical place which draws together faith and superstition.

Colin Emmett is directing Fen – and it is also his directorial début:

“Fen’ is a play that I have designed the lighting for on two previous occasions and it has always been a show I’ve wanted to direct. The Acorn studio theatre at TFT is a wonderful space in which to stage it. I have been lucky enough to live in the area in which the play is set, an area of vast flatlands which is agriculturally rich yet remains a very bleak, harsh but strangely beautiful environment, something the characters and the writing of this piece convey so well.

“I’m hoping that our audience for this production leaves the theatre challenged by what they have seen yet are ‘entertained’ by two very powerful pieces of writing.”

Regina Monologues & Fen performs from 25 – 30 September 2023 in the Acorn Studio, St Margarets Lane, Titchfield. For more information including booking tickets please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/ or contact our Box Office on 0333 666 3366.