The Wife of Willesden

A feat of storytelling! [Perkins] seizes the stage the same way Alvita seizes the power: fearlessly.

The Boston Globe

Glorious…Zadie Smith and Indhu Rubasingham have concocted a stunning piece of freewheeling stagecraft. Clare Perkins is magnificent.

The Times of London

A proper local legend, Alvita will tell her life story to anyone in the local West London pub—there’s no shame in her game. The question is: are you ready to hear it? Because this woman’s got the gift of the gab: she can rewrite mistakes into triumphs, turn pain into parables. And her love life? It’s an epic poem. They call her the Wife of Willesden. Join her for an evening that celebrates the human knack for telling elaborate tales, especially about our own lives. Winner of the 2022 Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright, critically acclaimed and multi award-winning best-selling author Zadie Smith transforms an excerpt from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales into the unbelievable—and unforgettable.

This production includes strobe lighting, flashing lights, haze, slurs against women, sexually suggestive scenes, and representations of sexual and physical violence.

Adapted by Zadie Smith from Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham
Presented in association with BAM
A Kiln Theatre Production

Production Sponsor
The Linda Hammett Ory & Andrew Ory Charitable Trust

Additional Production Support
Brenda and Kevin Jarrell

Rush

$30 rush tickets may be made available online, in person, and by phone the day of the performance, as inventory allows due to returns. Check back daily!

Standing Room

A very limited number of $25 standing room tickets will be sold in person and by phone for select sold-out performances on the day of each show, beginning at noon. Any standing room tickets available after in-person patrons have been assisted will be sold by phone. Limit 1 ticket per person.

All Discounts

Standard tickets start at $30, and discounts are available to students and ticket-buyers under the age of 25, Blue Star families, EBT card holders, seniors, Harvard faculty and staff, and others.

More Info