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Helen is forty when she loses her husband. Her daughter Becca is fifteen when her dad dies. Now it's just the two of them... what do they do next?
Unfolding through snapshots of a relationship over forty years, Helen explores the threads which bind mother and daughter together, how they damage each other, and how they come to each other's rescue.
A play for two actors – about love, grief, and getting ashes stuck to your trouser leg – Helen by Maureen Lennon was shortlisted for the 2020 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award. It was first produced at Theatre503, London, in May 2023, in a co-production with Terrain, a company dedicated to promoting Northern artists and the stories they tell.
“Powerful... wrenchingly sad... successfully captures that dislocating out-of-body feeling that can accompany profound grief, and there are some truthful moments of humor and tenderness, too.”—The Stage
“Feels real... the dialogue is strong and natural... poignant with touches of humor.”—Reviews Hub
“Brisk, intense and with a strong emotional hit.”—London Pub Theatres
“A deeply poignant and profound look at how grief can impact a life... beautifully written... hugely recommended.”—There Ought To Be Clowns
Maureen Lennon is a playwright whose plays include: Helen (Theatre503, London) and Us Against Whatever (Middle Child Theatre/Hull Truck/Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, 2019).
Her play Helen was shortlisted for the Theatre 503 International Playwrighting Prize.