The premise of Non Vaughan-O’Hagan’s Across the Square is an imaginary meeting between Lady Ottoline Morrell and Millicent Fawcett in December 1917.
Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938) was a dazzling fixture in early twentieth-century intellectual circles – a flamboyant aristocrat, society hostess and literary muse, whose life reads like a novel brimming with drama and daring. She opened her home in London’s Bedford Square to artists, writers and thinkers – the Bloomsbury Group – and had a long affair with Bertrand Russell. Her letters and diaries are often very revealing! In Across the Square, the playwright herself plays this role.
Millicent Fawcett (1847-1929, so twenty-six years Morrell’s senior) was one of Britain’s most influential and determined campaigners for women’s rights – especially the right to vote – but she stood apart for her calm, reasoned approach in a time of fiery protest. In 1925, she was created DBE for her services to the nation and in 2018, she became the first woman to be commemorated with a statue in Parliament Square, standing among eleven male figures, including Churchill and Mandela. When the play begins, Millicent is mourning the death of her sister, the trailblazing physician Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, who became the first woman in Britain to qualify as a doctor.
Millicent is expertly portrayed by Francesca Anderson, who is very successful in creating the atmosphere of a seventy-year-old sister in mourning. She uses facial expression well to subtly portray her grief and her annoyance, first of all, at being interrupted by the unexpected visit of Morrell. She also makes the most of the rather unimaginative dialogue she has been given, and the strength of her character shines through.
Director Alex Pearson has undertaken the unenviable task of trying to bring the rather pedestrian script to life, and, thanks to her imagination and skill, the result is much more interesting than it might have been. She has done this by ensuring that even though the two actors sit on either side of a table drinking sherry for most of the play, Millicent Fawcett, especially, is given interesting business and moves so that the play does not appear as static as it might. She also contrives to vary the pace within the play, which aids concentration. Otherwise, there is a danger that Across the Square would just be a history lesson, as little actually happens!
Eve Oakley’s set is very sparse – just a small table and two chairs plus a sherry decanter – but in reality Fawcett’s room in her house in Gower Street, just around the corner from Bedford Square, would have been much more fully furnished in the time of George V, and this would have benefitted the action of the play by giving more for the actors to do, as well as creating a more realistic space.
An instructive piece of theatre – especially recommended for history buffs!
Review by John Groves
As with many a good adventure, Across the Square came to be because of a chance encounter. With a shared interest in both the Bloomsbury Group and the campaign for women’s suffrage, Alex and Non met and an idea was born as they sipped a glass of ginger ale.
Across the Square is an imagined encounter between two fearless and colourful characters, Lady Ottoline Morrell and Millicent Fawcett.
Non Vaughan-O’Hagan – Co-producer, playwright and performer
Alex Pearson – Co-producer and Director
Francesca Anderson – Performer
Eve Oakley – Production Designer
Jim Smith – Graphic Designer
Debbie Markham – Web Designer
ACROSS THE SQUARE
Jermyn Street Theatre
13 July 2025
