Rising literary star Claire Trévien was longlisted for the 2013 Guardian First Book Award with her poetry collection The Shipwrecked House after winning the public vote. Now the twenty-eight year-old writer and performer is working with Penned in the Margins to transform her spellbinding poems for the stage. Inspired by maritime tales, Trévien’s poems have […]
Inspired by maritime tales, Trévien’s poems have been called ‘rich in imagery, musicality and wit’ and ‘startling and strangely beautiful’. The Shipwrecked House is soaked in images of the sea – referencing flooding, erosion and climate change alongside stories of love, friendship and homesickness – whilst an undercurrent of domestic violence gives the work a sharp edge.
Trévien lives in Buckinghamshire but grew up in Brittany, France, and her dual heritage informs her poetry deeply – from Breton folk tales of submerged cities to the off-kilter syntax of a bilingual writer. Although Trévien has a background in theatre and performance, interpreting the poems for the stage is ‘a huge but exciting challenge.’ She is aiming to bring the surreal vision of her poems to ‘audiences who wouldn’t necessarily pick up a poetry book’, creating a one-woman show that is ‘cohesive and moving’.
The creative team behind the show includes musician Oliver Barrett and theatre director Russell Bender, and we are also thrilled to be working with perfumer Sarah McCartney to create a unique scent that evokes the misty seascapes of her poems. The Shipwrecked House premieres at Ledbury Poetry Festival in July before touring England and Wales.
11 July |
LEDBURY Poetry Festival |
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21 Sept |
LONDON Rich Mix |
27 Sept |
BRISTOL The Cube |
29 Sept |
EXETER The Bikeshed |
1 Oct |
NORWICH Arts Centre |
29 Oct |
YORK St John University |
30 Oct |
NEWCASTLE Live Theatre |
13 Nov |
LONDON Canada Water Culture Space |
14 Nov |
BRIDPORT Arts Centre |
9 Jan/p> |
OXFORD Playhouse (BT Studio) |
Writer/performer: Claire Trévien
Director/producer: Tom Chivers
Consultant director: Russell Bender
Music/sound design: Oliver Barrett
Perfumer: Sarah McCartney
Co-commissioned by Penned in the Margins and Ledbury Poetry Festival
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England