Author Anne Enright is Coming to The Music Hall as Part of the WRITERS IN THE LOFT Series

Booker Prize-winning author Anne Enright comes to The Music Hall as part of the Writers in the Loft series on Wednesday, March 11. She will discuss her highly anticipated new novel, ACTRESS, a mother-daughter love story and wry valentine to the theatrical life-from small-town Ireland to Broadway to Hollywood. Bringing to life two generations of women with difficult sexual histories, both assaulted and silenced, both finding―or failing to find―their powers of recovery, ACTRESS touches a raw and timely nerve.

The 7pm event includes an author presentation and an onstage interview with Kristen Bulger, Digital Marketing Associate at The Music Hall, followed by a Q&A and post-event book signing and meet-and-greet. It will be held at The Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress St., in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"Anne Enright is a master at creating emotional depth and complexity within her writing, and ACTRESS is no exception," says Kristen Bulger, the evening's moderator. "I'm excited to discuss the process and inspiration behind this powerful new book."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Anne Enright's mother-daughter love story is an exploration of fame, sexual power, and a daughter's search to understand her mother's hidden truths. Norah O'Dell's mother Katherine is a brilliant theater legend and a hopelessly needy and evasive parent. As she sorts through her mother's belongings, Norah, now middle-aged, conjures scenes from her mother's tragicomic life. Born into a theater family, Katherine O'Dell ascends from Ireland's version of the bus-and-truck circuit, to London's West End, to Broadway, and finally to Hollywood, where she briefly stars as a Maureen O'Hara-like Irish rose.

Every moment of Katherine's life is a performance, with young Norah standing at the wings. With age, alcohol, and dimming stardom, Katherine's grip on reality grows fitful and fueled by an interior monologue that reads like a casting-couch nightmare as told by Molly Bloom, Katherine ultimately commits the crime of shooting a pompous agent in the foot. As her role changes to Katherine's protector, caregiver, and finally legacy-keeper, Norah comes to understand her mother's fierce commitment to the love that binds an actress and her audience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne Enright has published three volumes of stories, one book of nonfiction, and five novels. In 2015, she was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction. Her novel, The Gathering, won the Man Booker Prize and The Forgotten Waltz won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. She currently lives and works in Dublin.

TICKETS

The ticket package for Writers in the Loft: Anne Enright with Actress on Wednesday, March 11, at 7pm is $41. In addition to a reserved seat, the package includes a copy of ACTRESS ($26.95, hardcover), a bar beverage, author discussion, Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet. Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.