SAPPHO: THE POETESS EP Will Be Released Ahead of Edinburgh and London Runs
Hayley Canham's musical memoir, directed by Hannah Hauer-King, explores the life of the ancient Greek poet.
An EP of Sappho: The Poetess will be released in digital and streaming formats on Wednesday 12 August, ahead of the show's run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and London's Young Vic. Pre-add or pre-save the digital EP here.
The album is produced by Sam Young, Hayley Canham, and Ramin Sabi. Pierpaolo Demarchi serves as recording and mixing engineer.
Sappho: The Poetess is the untold story of Sappho — poetess, queer icon, and history's first great songwriter. Written and performed by Hayley Canham (The Hard Problem at The National Theatre, Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre) and directed by Hannah Hauer-King (The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs at the Kiln Theatre, The Swell at the Orange Tree Theatre), this musical memoir is based on Sappho (c. 630–570 BCE), a celebrated lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who in contrast to Homer's stories of heroes and gods, wrote about the intimate world of human feelings — love, longing, friendship, and beauty.
Sappho: The Poetess will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on 13-14 August. Tickets are available HERE. It will also be presented at London's Young Vic on 27 September as part of the Shedinburgh residency. Tickets are available HERE. A workshop production of Sappho: The Poetess was staged at London's Other Palace Studio in 2025.
Sappho's verses were originally performed with music, creating a deeply personal style that inspired later generations. Though most of her work survived only in fragments, her influence remains: Plato called her “the Tenth Muse,” and her name and homeland gave rise to the modern words sapphic and lesbian. Today, Sappho is remembered both as a groundbreaking poet and as a symbol of female creativity and same-sex love in the ancient world.
