A true story of love, survival and transformation.

In a deserted circus, the true story of actress Tilly Wedekind unfolds in a heartrending performance of virtuosic storytelling.

When Tilly’s controlling husband, the playwright Frank Wedekind – writer of Spring Awakening, which became a hit Broadway musical – takes away Tilly’s acting roles, he reduces her to a nobody and she has a breakdown. Determined to recover, she escapes the relationship and reclaims her career. By writing her story, she asserts her own identity and transforms herself into a somebody, in a journey of personal triumph.

Tilly No-Body confronts vital questions around toxic relationships, co-dependency and the silencing of women’s voices. Informed by writer-performer Bella Merlin’s own experience of surviving coercive domestic violence, the result is a powerful reflection on identity, love, and the transformative power of self-discovery. 

It was showcased at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and received rave reviews and an EFFTA Award at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. It now makes its London premiere.

Post-show talks

8 July: Join Bella Merlin and Jessica Regan (Big Speeches, The Guilty Feminist) after the show for a discussion of how theatre can empower women offstage. In a time when misogyny is still so prevalent, how can theatrical practise encourage women to feel heard at work, home and in their day-to-day lives?

15 July: Join writer and performer Bella Merlin in conversation with Sarah Lawrie (And Tomorrow Theatre) and Caroline Bryant (Artistic Director of Futures Theatre) as they discuss the transformative role that theatre can play in empowering survivors of domestic violence. 

22 July: Join Bella Merlin and Andy Lavender (Vice-Principal of Guildhall School of Drama) as they discuss how Stanislavskian and Brechtian techniques have influenced their creative practise. Reflecting on the transformative period of theatre history in which Tilly No-Body is set, their discussion will be moderated by Emma Lucia Hands (Director of Drama Studio London).

23 July: Frank Wedekind: Masochist or Feminist? Bella Merlin was inspired to write Tilly No-Body in the early 1990s, when she played Lulu in Peter Quint’s adaptation of Frank Wedekind’s Lulu plays. In 1990, Jonathan Holloway directed a production of Wedekind’s plays for the Red Shift Theatre Company (of which he is founder). Now, they discuss this controversial figure of theatrical history in what promises to be an entertaining and energised discussion.