The Celebrated Novel Comes To Life On Stage

Alice Sebold's soaring tale of murder, family fractures and teen self-discovery comes to the Hackney Empire for a strictly limited one week run this autumn. Brought to the stage by visionary British director Melly Still, whose adaptation of Captain Corelli's Mandolin recently won much critical acclaim on the West End, the poetic production continues its triumphant tour of the UK after thrilling audiences during its initial run at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. 

Performed by a remarkable ensemble cast of up and coming British talent, the production fuses mesmeric stage design with kinetic, movement-filled story-telling and evocative set pieces. At its heart lies 14 year old Susie Salmon, a teenager on the cusp of womanhood in a small early 70s Pennsylvania town, whose heart and head is filled with the usual pre-teen things - first love, homework and an interest in photography. When she is brutally raped and murdered by a neighbour, she finds herself looking down on her loved ones from her surreal patch of heaven. Determined to reach them, she finds small ways to help them figure out her murder while the splinters of her death slowly tear them apart.