Letters to Joan | Baron's Court Theatre

Letters To Joan is an achingly beautiful play about love, dreams, fears and letters. Directed by Martavius Parrish and written by Samantha Streit (who also stars in the show), the play reflects on a dual timeline of past and present, as it examines that which once was and what could have been through the eyes of different generations. 

In the present day, 23 year old playwright Sam discovers an old shoe box filled to the brim with old love letters written by her grandparents to one another. Sam discovers their beautiful love story and the shadow of something darker emerges as well. As Sam tries to piece her grandparents' history together, she realises that sometimes the harsh truth has to be sacrificed. The letters come to life in the voice of her grandma Joan (Samantha Streit) and grandpa Len (Kevin Cahill). 

The play neatly weaves the past and the present together in an engaging manner; keeping Len at the heart of it all. Audiences are given the naivety of his youth in the letters that are re-lived and the warm reminiscing as he and Sam converse. Streit threads these two emotional strands, adopting a different persona for Joan and for Sam, yet finds a common factor in both characters that help carry along the charm. 

Based on her own life, Streit doesn't shy away from interrogating her grandparents and her mother, both crediting and calling out behaviours that belong to a different society. Instead Streit confronts her frustrations that her grandmother Joan's dreams were left unfinished through her own journey as a playwright in a gorgeous sentiment that helps tie the piece together. As society, mental health and other elements help form a crux for this decision, the play transforms from being just about Joan, to being about dreamers everywhere. 

Streit's writing connects the already poetic letters that promises a fairytale romance to the unflinching reality, with a stark contrast in styling yet just as profound. Streit's emotional journey as she misses the late Joan, is coupled with the notion of Joan's words being left unshared beyond the hundreds of secret love letters. The play has a deceptively simple premise yet it easily lends itself to layers of introspection that leaves the audiences weeping not only for Joan and Len, but for everyone they've ever loved. Streit's play does the remarkable, which is to inspire its audiences not only to love louder and live more boldly, but to embrace one's fears and darkness and revel in the ability to miss something or someone. 

Parrish's direction is minimal, allowing the words to steal the spotlight with the actors often rooted on the spot, or sat at a table with one another. The theatre space is compact, which further helps the intimacy of the piece, with Cahill often making direct eye contact with the audience; even taking a seat amongst them for an extended period. 

Cahill does a wonderful job as Len, shedding away years of worry as he becomes his younger self in the letters. Notably, Cahill never reads from the many handwritten letters; which really helps the words feel more authentic and heartfelt as he relives each memory. Cahill brings out a hardened and weary version of Len as he becomes Sam's grandpa, yet glimpses of his younger romantic self shines through. Cahill conveys decades of life in the 60 minutes, as well as making some of the more questionable decisions of the time feel emotionally charged. Cahill's performance leaves audiences feeling more empathetic towards the world, and helps foster the developing connection between past and present.

Streit takes on the role of Sam and Joan, with glasses and a cardigan to help distinguish between the two. Streit is instantly likeable and does well to differentiate the dual roles. Streit's more fiery performance as Sam is filled with conflicting emotions of betrayal, confusion, anger and fear, creating a really fascinating performance. An hour is almost too short, with Sam becoming such a rich character that still leaves a lot to be explored further.

Joan, is an equally intriguing character, and Streit brings out the light hearted nature of the role, just as well as the more sobering realities. Streit's emotional performance as both Sam and Joan also highlights Cahill's more level headed Len. Streit delivers a performance that is incredibly raw that it resonates with the audiences on a deep and personal level. 

The play is beautiful throughout, creating a poetry out of grief and the various forms it can occur in, even when joy eventually triumphs. The play, however, becomes so much more poignant when writer and performer Samantha informs us it's a true story, it's her story and it's Joan's. 

Letters to Joan is currently playing at Baron's Court Theatre until 15th November 2025.

Tickets and More Information

★★★★★ (5*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review