Zoë to recreate Stevie Smith's 'unforgettable' performance at Cheltenham Literature Festival

27 August 2015 20:05

This year's prestigious Cheltenham Literature Festival, which runs from 2 to 11 October, will feature a music and poetry performance by Zoë, in the role of quirky poet Stevie Smith. Zoe will recreate the poetry reading that was given by Smith at the same festival, fifty years ago, and described by the organisers as 'unforgettable'.

The news is sure to delight anyone who had the pleasure of watching Zoë portray the Palmers Green poet in Hugh Whitemore's play, Stevie, which was performed at Chichester and Hampstead in 2014 and 2015 respectively. When the production opened at Chichester, the Guardian's Lyn Gardner emphasised that 'Zoë Wanamaker is so perfectly cast [...] that you don't feel so much that she's acting as simply channelling the mid-20th century poet and novelist.'

The Stevie Smith event will take place on the Festival's final day, at 6:15pm in The Inkpot, Imperial Square. In addition to the performance, the event will include what is sure to be an insightful discussion between Zoë and academic Will May, the editor of the soon-to-be-published Collected Poems and Drawings of Stevie Smith.

Cheltenham Festivals members can book tickets now; public ticket booking opens on 2 September at 1pm (UK time). For full details, see the booking info on the Festivals' website.

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