MRS. ROOSEVELT FLIES TO LONDON Comes to Northumberland

After a successful run at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, writer and performer Alison Skilbeck tours her solo show "Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London" to Northumberland for the first time, with performances at The Witham in Barnard Castle on 27 September, The Playhouse in Alnwick on 28 September, Queen's Hall Arts Centre in Hexham on 29 September, and The Maltings in Berwick on 30 September.

First performed on the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, to great critical acclaim, the show has toured the UK, Eire, and France. Skilbeck has special permission from the Roosevelt Estate to use Eleanor's diary and writings. The play captures the spirit, humour, and passion of one of the most extraordinary women of the 20th century, on her daring visit to Britain in 1942.

Directed by Lucy Skilbeck (39 Steps, Spring Awakening), with Sound Design by Emma Laxton (War Horse), and Lighting Design by Mark Dymock (The Hired Man), Skilbeck's one-woman show explores Roosevelt's public, and hidden life. Described by The Guardian as "always a moving and bravura performance", the play looks back from 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, while Eleanor is on her death bed. Roosevelt relives her visit to war torn Britain, and pivotal experiences from throughout her long life, including the extra-marital affairs of her husband, President Roosevelt, and her own close relationship with journalist Lorena Hickok, to establishing herself as, in President Truman's words, "the First Lady of the World". Skilbeck plays all of the colourful characters that Eleanor meets on her travels.

Meticulously researched from Eleanor's wartime diary, newspaper columns and vast correspondence, and inspired by many notable biographical works, Skilbeck portrays a woman beset by deep personal insecurities and tragedy, but one who never lost her passionate belief in the strength of the human spirit. Playwright Alan Ayckbourn said of her performance "A consummate performer weaving her way effortlessly through her own finely woven web of fascinating material."

For her performance in Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London, Skilbeck received a Best Female Performance Nomination for the Off-West End (Offie) Awards and was nominated for the Best Actress award (along with Best Production nomination for Hint of Lime Productions) at the Buxton Fringe Awards.

Performance Dates

7.30pm, Wednesday 27 September 2023

The Witham, Three Horse Market, Barnard Castle, DL12 8LY

Tickets: £12 -£14.

Box office: 01833 631 107 / thewitham.org.uk

7.30pm, Thursday 28 September 2023

The Playhouse, Bondgate Without, Alnwick NE66 1PQ

Tickets: £18/£14 conc

Box office: 01665 660 550 / alnwickplayhouse.co.uk

7.30pm, Friday 29 September 2023

Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS

Tickets: £14/£12 conc.

Box office: 01434 652 477 / queenshall.co.uk

8pm, Saturday 30 September 2023

The Maltings, Eastern Lane, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, TD15 1AJ

Tickets: £14/£13 conc.

Box office: 01289 330 999 / maltingsberwick.co.uk

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