About the Show

A young Mary Ann Evans challenges her father’s strict expectations in 1840s England.

Set in 1841, the play follows Mary Ann Evans as she and her father, Robert, settle into Bird Grove House with the aim of securing her a husband through their new church community. As Mary Ann’s intellectual interests deepen and she connects with local thinkers who question traditional norms, she grows increasingly at odds with her father’s convictions. Their relationship is strained as she confronts the limitations placed on her and considers a path that defies the conventions of her time. The piece traces her early struggle to reconcile family loyalty with the emerging voice that would later define her career as George Eliot.

Critic Reviews (8)

"...the play feels entirely modern in its insistence on the kind of self-reckoning that people talk about these days"
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“Most depressingly of all, we have to be told constantly of Mary Ann’s intellectual capacity, because the play she’s in is too overwritten to give her the chance to show some of that intellect herself.”
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"Rising star Elizabeth Dulau is the saving grace in this ponderous play about the early adult life of Mary Ann Evans"
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"The play has a delicate emotional power that takes hold slowly and has a lovely, strong, central performance from Dulau. "
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“It’s not a radical or earthshaking show, but fans of stately period dramas with a feminist twinkle won’t go away disappointed.”
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“It’s decorous: handsomely dressed, a little too static, a little too verbose. But it is never stuffy.”
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"Bird Grove is more enjoyable in its tightly written, and often humorous, often ironic, first half than in its second, which does meander a bit. "
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“The performances are fine across the board, but the script is lacking in chances to shine.”
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