Sebastian Barry’s Whistling Psyche received its world premiere at Almeida Theatre, London in May 2004.
A dark night, an old waiting room and two supposed strangers eager to reach their destinations. In the cold hours that rest between nightfall and daybreak, silent questions prompt unexpected revelations. Two souls share a passion for reform, but only one – Miss Nightingale – has been honoured. The other, Dr Barry, would never receive the same acclaim, but notoriety came after death and for a very different reason...
CAST INCLUDED: Clare Bloom, Kathyrn Hunter.
Whistling Psyche is gripping and superbly staged by Robert Delamere, with Tim Mitchell’s lighting a model of expressive subtlety. The pace and power of these two brilliant actresses is marvellous to watch.
The Stage
In the play, the dramatist imagines an encounter between Dr Barry and Florence Nightingale in a grand, mysterious waiting room of a Victorian railway station, magnificently evoked in Simon Higlett's atmospheric design….full of heart-wrenching moments of compassion.
Claire Bloom plays the aged Florence Nightingale with a beautiful luminosity and grace.
…with amazing aplomb Kathyrn Hunter powerfully captures the character's bitterness, loneliness and pain.
The Telegraph
Mesmerising.
The Metro