Overview

1841. Mary Ann Evans is of marriageable age.

Her father has recently moved with her to Bird Grove House, with the sole purpose of finding her a suitable husband. But Mary Ann's remarkable intellect and growing self-confidence are forming progressive new ideas in her mind; ideas that challenge her father's most strongly held beliefs. If she is to become the writer she has always dreamt of being, Mary Ann will have to break every societal convention expected of her.

A funny and poignant exploration of family ties and self-determination, Alexi Kaye Campbell's play Bird Grove tells the untold story of the woman who was to become one of England's greatest writers: George Eliot. It premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2026, directed by Anna Ledwich.