Audience Testimonials

IRMA-JANE CAGGIANO:

(Canterbury College performance, September 2022)

A rehearsal performance of ‘Vivienne Sometimes’ was presented to our A-Level Drama and Performing Arts students at Canterbury College in late September 2022.

The two-performer production was both uneasy yet mesmerising as we as viewers witnessed the demise of Vivien, as she spiralled into apparent madness. Questions are raised by the performance about the fragility of mental health and the potential within us all to be unsettled by loneliness, loss and grief. Equally, moments of humour and celebration saw Vivien take control and turn the tables on her husband.

Rosanna created an awkward yet sympathising relationship with the audience, at times interacting directly with us, whilst the pianist Sam, who sometimes represented Eliot, emotionless and still, set and followed her mood.

This was an engaging and thought-provoking performance that had the students discussing the poignant twists and turns of an estranged relationship.

IAN CHRISTIE:

(Bruce Castle Museum performance, 15th October 2022)

I live close to the site of Northumberland House, so the story of Vivienne Haigh's confinement there maybe has more resonance for me. As I pass the present-day housing development that's replaced it, it's hard not to feel a shudder - after seeing Donna Fitzgerald's meditation on Vivienne's troubled life. The performance at Bruce Castle was remarkably effective, and quite haunting. The two performers, pianist and actress, were excellent: catching the constant shifts of tone that seems to have marked Vivienne's troubled life. And somehow this quality seems highly appropriate to what Eliot emerged with - The Waste Land. We'll never know for sure what Vivienne contributed to this, but the more you know about her life and impact on those around her, she seems to be very present in the poem.

This could have been mawkish, or exploitative, but for me it was illuminating, and troubling in a way that stays with me.

AUGUSTINE LEUDAR

(Stade Hall performance, Hastings; March 2023)

It was brilliant. Absolutely stunning performance Rosanna, stunning. And so sad what happened to Vivien. [...] Did she really do that thing with the ad in the paper?

BERNICE (COMPANY OF ROMEO AND JULIET AT PRINTER’S PLAYHOUSE):

(Stade Hall performance, Hastings; March 2023)

You were phenomenal tonight! What an insightful and powerful performance in 'Vivienne Sometimes.' You kept me and the rest of the audience spellbound. BRAVO.

MARGARET SHEEHY

(Stade Hall performance, Hastings; March 2023)

[T]remendous potential.