UCR’s Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production presents
in collaboration with BODY-WORD-VOICE
(a SoCal/OASIS & Office of Research and Development awarded project)
and UCR’s Women’s Resource Centre and CARE

TILLY NO-BODY

A remarkable true story of resilience and love
Written and performed by Bella Merlin
Directed by Miles Anderson

March 6, 8:00pm
March 7, 2:00pm
ARTS Studio Theatre
Free and open to the public
No reservations required (first-come first-served). Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time. 
The performance will begin promptly at the announced curtain time and latecomers will only be seated at an appropriate pause in the program.

Germany, 1917. A lone woman. A bottle of poison. A momentous decision…

In a deserted circus, drama, humour, music and songs tell the true story of actress Tilly Wedekind and her controlling, famous writer-husband, Frank Wedekind (Spring Awakening). When Frank robs Tilly of her acting roles he reduces her to a Nobody. Broken-hearted, she swallows poison. But following her recovery, she reclaims her career, discovers her voice, and as an 80-year-old woman she finally writes her own story. Tilly No-Body becomes a Somebody. 

This internationally acclaimed, tour-de-force performance about sex and love, transformation and identity asks: Why do we stay in relationships long after they’ve turned toxic? How can we find our voices after we’ve been silenced? Can sharing our stories help us reshape our lives?

Award-winning actor and writer Bella Merlin brings her previous experience of a violent relationship: “Tilly’s resilience came through writing her own story – mine has come through playing her. It became a way of saying we can get through this, we can survive.”

BODY-WORD-VOICE is a practice-as-research initiative led by Drs. Annika Speer and Bella Merlin, funded by SoCal/OASIS/Office of Research and Economic Development. We use theatrical performance, actor-training skills, and public-speaking techniques as a means of listening to the body, finding words for the embodied information, and giving voice to those words. We explore creative frameworks and mindful practices for navigating complex emotions through shared storytelling, witnessing and listening.

Scenic Designer: Kerry Jones
Costume Designer: Maggie Morgan
Lighting Designer: Ben Tusher
Sound Designer: David Roesner
Dramaturg: Annika Speer
Stage Manager: Vanessa Baez

Winner, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Theatre Award (EFFTA)
Pick of the Fringe ‘Highly recommended’ ★★★★
‘flawlessly performed’ Three Weeks ★★★★
‘a chilling resonance’ Broadway Baby ★★★★
‘Where does actor end and character begin?... the effect is intoxicating’ LouReviews ★★★★
‘Performed by Merlin with precision and pathos’ The Scotsman
‘a masterclass in multi-talent…keen direction by Miles Anderson’ Binge Fringe Review
‘Costume is shed piece by piece, symbolic of Tilly sharing her story with us’ Musical Theatre Review

PARKING:
Please click here for parking information and directions.