The Confessions

Alice was born in 1943. She’s an Australian woman and an activist. She is a life. What do we know of this life? What does her son, Alexander Zeldin? The British playwright and director used hours of interviews he conducted with his mother to create The Confessions. The portrait and fate of a child of the working class, who left her island to start again as a divorced woman in the London of the 1980s. As society changes around her, Alice’s loves form the throughline of a process of emancipation to which we can all relate. What do we know of each other? What do we want to know? A quest for confessions as sources for the construction of one’s own character... Such was the path Alexander Zeldin felt he had to follow. To make theatre outside of theatre, to search for other ways to look at the world within the lives of those around him.

Interview with Alexander Zeldin

With Joe Bannister, Amelda Brown, Jerry Killick, Lilit Lesser, Brian Lipson, Eryn Jean Norvill, Pamela Rabe, Gabrielle Scawthorn, Yasser Zadeh
Text and direction Alexander Zeldin
Set and costume design Marg Horwell
Choreography and movement Imogen Knight
Lighting Paule Constable
Music Yannis Philippakis
Sound Josh Anio Grigg
Casting director Jacob Sparrow
Casting in Australia Serena Hill
Assistant director Joanna Pidcock
Collaboration on lighting design Ben Dodds
Voice director Cathleen McCarron
Dramaturgy support Sasha Milavic Davies
Technical Director Phil Wilding
Stage Manager Pippa Meyer, Julia Slienger
Assistant Stage Manager Hannah Gillett
Lighting Manager Henry Marlow
Sound Director Neil McNally
Sound Manager Hope Brennan
Machinery Kevan Healey
Dress Director Josie Thomas
Clothing Caroline Hannam
Production Louise Durey, Faye Merralls
Production and distribution Marko Rankov
French translation for surtitles Valentine Haussoulier

Production Compagnie A Zeldin / A Zeldin Company
Commissioned by The National Theatre of Great Britain, RISING Melbourne, Théâtres de la Ville du Luxembourg
Coproduction Wiener Festwochen, Comédie de Genève, Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe (Paris), Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), Théâtre de Liège, Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Athens Epidaurus Festival (Greece), Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d'Europa, Adelaide Festival, Centre dramatique national de Normandie-Rouen
With the support of the Ministry of Culture Drac Île-de-France, Onda - Office national de diffusion artistique and for the 77th edition of the Festival d'Avignon: British Council
Residencies The Theatres of the City of Luxembourg, RISING Melbourne, The National Theatre of Great Britain
Thanks to Alexander Zeldin is an associate artist of the National Theatre of Great Britain, the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, the Théâtres de la Ville du Luxembourg and the Centre dramatique national de Normandie-Rouen
Production Patrons Nancy and Michael Timmers, David Schwimmer, Cas Donald, Elisabeth de Kergorlay, Mazdak Rassi and Zanna Roberts Rassi, Andrew and Raquel Segal, Victoria Reese and Greg Kennedy, Studio Indigo Architects & Interior Designers