Teacups, Zebras and Dancing Kaisers

The subtitle of this performance was ‘Unfolding Wallington’ as it aimed to give glimpses into the historic house and the extraordinary family who lived there.

When researching the show, we found so many stories that we decided to give the audiences glimpses which would then stimulate more questions and interest.

Each group of sixty guests was divided into three parties of twenty people who each experienced one of three distinctive and intimate tours. The ropes that usually stand between guests and the rest of the rooms were taken down so the audience could become guests of the house and its unusual family. Audiences encountered some of the guests of the socialist MP Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan, from George Bernard Shaw to Gertrude Bell and Sybil Thorndike.

The last child of Sir Charles and Lady Mary Trevelyan lived in an apartment in the West Wing at Wallington until recently. Patricia Trevelyan, who died in June 2013 at the age of 98, was a great supporter of the performance, as was her daughter Janet Hall who took part in the show (playing herself).

Credits: 

Written by Fiona Ellis 
Directed by Cinzia Hardy 
Design by Imogen Cloët 
Music by Katie Doherty 

Supported by National Trust and Arts Council England