Written by Madeleine Brettingham | Directed by Wiebke Green
Arcola Theatre, 5th – 29th March
“You simply want it to go on and on” Guardian (on Tarantula, directed by Wiebke Green)
Following an unexpected friendship between a psychopath in a high security hospital and his secret lover’s husband, Madeleine Brettingham’s (Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, BBC) debut play Dear Martin is a darkly comic commentary on mental health, connection and redemption. Dave, a long-suffering husband, discovers his wife has been exchanging erotic letters with Martin, a psychopath in a high-security hospital. But when Dave gathers up the courage to confront him, Martin strikes up an unanticipated bargain: he will help Dave reignite his marriage if Dave helps to convince Martin’s psychiatrist that he’s actually made a friend. Dear Martin is a darkly humorous but touching tale of two men finding a moment of connection in their otherwise lonely lives.
Playwright Madeleine Brettingham said, “Dear Martin is a play about why we relate. I wanted to explore what makes relationships work, why we’re drawn to some people and repelled by others and what relating is, through the prism of a funny, flawed and unusual friendship between two people who are struggling with it in different ways. Dear Martin is a play about exploitation and love and the inability of either to completely account for the things that we do. I’m very excited to see this brilliant director and theatre bring it to life.”
Madeleine Brettingham is a comedy writer for TV and radio whose credits include Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC), That Mitchell and Webb Look (BBC), The Kumars (BBC), Have I Got News For You (BBC) Would I Lie To You (BBC), Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV), Horrible Histories (CBBC) and Radio 4’s The News Quiz. As well as scripts, Madeleine writes about comedy for The Times Literary Supplement. Dear Martin is Madeleine’s debut play.
Wiebke Green is a British-German theatre director based in London. She has directed award-winning shows, including a New York Times Critics’ Pick, an Offie Solo Performance winner, and an Offie OnComm winner. She trained at the Orange Tree Theatre and as intern director to Katie Mitchell. She has directed and assistant directed at the Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre, Schaubühne Berlin, Orange Tree Theatre, Theatre503, Schauspielhaus Hamburg, and Finborough Theatre. She has experience in three areas: text-based theatre, live-streamed shows, and live-cinema shows. Wiebke has also taught and directed actors in training at Royal Welsh, Mountview, and LSDA. She has led workshops with the Monobox and Run At It Shouting. Her recent directing work incudes Tarantula (Arcola Theatre, 2025) and Union (Arcola Theatre, 2023)
Arcola Theatre produces daring, high-quality theatre in the heart of East London. Arcola commission and premiere exciting, original works alongside rare gems of world drama and bold new productions of classics. They work with creatives from across the globe, acting as a platform for emerging and established artists, providing them space to grow, explore and refine their craft. Their socially engaged, international programme champions diversity, challenges the status quo, and stages trailblazing productions for everyone. Ticket prices are some of the most affordable in London, with a long running pay what you can scheme every Tuesday. They produce the yearly Grimeborn Opera Festival, hosting dozens of new and classical works from across the globe. Their pioneering environmental initiatives are award-winning and aim to make Arcola the world’s first carbon-neutral theatre.
Arcola has won awards including the UK Theatre Award for Promotion of Diversity, The Stage Award for Sustainability and the Peter Brook Empty Space Award.
Company information
Director: Wiebke Green
Writer: Madeleine Brettingham
Cast
TBC
Listings information
5 – 29 March
Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL
Mon – Sat 7pm, Sat matinees 3:30pm
£29.00 – £15.00 | Arcola Theatre | 020 7503 1646
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