“I dream. Sometimes I think that’s the only right thing to do.”
Partly a story of love and loneliness, partly a detective story, Haruki Murakami’s novel is brought to stage by Bryony Lavery (Frozen, The Book of Dust) and Melly Still (My Brilliant Friend, Coram Boy).
Following their partnership on The Lovely Bones, Lavery and Still join forces once again on the story of Sumire, a young Japanese writer who can’t find the words to write, who styles herself on Jack Kerouac and who falls head-over-heels in love with Miu, 17 years her senior. But when Sumire goes missing off the shores of Greece, her best friend, K’s search for her unearths more questions than answers. Sputnik Sweetheart journeys through Tokyo, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and an intangible space of shifting realities. Murakami’s story is about doing whatever it takes to overcome loneliness and rest in certainty.
Content warnings: discussions of sexual assault, depictions of a sexual nature, illustrations of animal abuse, swearing, flashing lights and haze.
Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
Artwork illustration by Sonoko Obuchi and design by Defne Özdogan.
★★★★★ “Bryony Lavery and director Melly Still retain the curious nature of the book, as well as the universal themes of yearning and unrequited love it explores with the novelist’s wondrous dreamlike touch.” – The Upcoming
★★★★★ “This is a heartfelt and poetic production that will make you chuckle, reflect, cry and make you wish you could live a day in Murakami’s universe.” – West End Best Friend
★★★★ “Stylish, thought-provoking and poetic, dream-like experiences lift their relationships to a complex psychological and metaphysical level.” – Morning Star
“Bryony Lavery and director Melly Still's version of Sputnik Sweetheart is such a full-blooded, gorgeously expressive production.” – The Telegraph
“A story of loneliness, desire and longing, from the near past when smartphones and social networks weren’t ubiquitous, it’s a strange but beguiling event, and surprisingly warm.” – The Standard
