Scary Little Girls

This Valentine’s weekend, immerse yourself in England’s greatest ever love story…

Most atmospheric offering for this year’s St Valentine’s celebrations?

Almost certainly it is the unusual new “Sonnet Walks”, which combine the famously romantic poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning with hidden delights around Marylebone Village, as they unfold English history’s greatest real-life love story.

Bursting with passion, the “Sonnets from the Portuguese” evoke the poet’s burgeoning, clandestine love affair with Robert Browning, which culminated in their secret wedding in St Marylebone Parish Church and subsequent elopement to Italy.

Famously, these sonnets include “How Do I Love Thee?”, voted Britain’s favourite love poem of all time in a national BBC poll.

Developed by Scary Little Girls Productions, each 90 minute “Sonnet Walk” will include unique, inter-active performances of ten of Barrett Browning’s most romantic sonnets, in which any passer-by might be a professional actor waiting to unfurl one of history’s greatest love poems. Participants are promised “an experience that re-awakens them to the city they live in and the people around them, as well as presenting Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s much-loved sonnets in a new light.”

Almost as important as the poetry, though, will be the route itself. Off the beaten track and set in one of the most picturesque and atmospheric areas of London, it offers a perfect setting for a series of intimate performances. Moreover, the route will allow audiences to walk in Barrett Browning’s footsteps, passing the houses in which she lived and the church where she and Robert were married.

According to Abigail Anderson, director of the project, “We want people to join us for a stroll around one of London’s best kept secrets: Marylebone Village. All along our specially constructed trail, unannounced performers will bring to life some of the most beautiful and heart-felt poetry in the English language. This unique walk is a love affair with the city and with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnets, and a perfect, romantic Valentine’s surprise for a loved one.”

Created to marry delicate, intricate love poetry with the street life of a modern city, these Sonnet Walk walks are being performed outdoors on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th February 2008 between 12.15 and 4.00pm, with groups beginning at Great Portland Street and finishing at the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square.

Parties will set off every fifteen minutes, and participants are advised to dress warmly to enjoy these romantic outdoor performances in comfort, whatever February’s weather may bring.

At the end of the performances, walkers will be able to explore Marylebone High Street with its many exclusive and unusual shops and restaurants, or might choose to extend the experience and saunter, arm-in-arm, around the Wallace Collection.

Credits and thanks

Actors - Rosie Ede
Marnie Baxter
Sharon Andrews
Sally Mortemore
Dewi Hughes
Lizzie Conway
Ursula Mohan
Alice Haughton
Eleanore Parkinson
Joannah Tincey
Bindya Solanki
Rebecca Mordan

Director - Abigail Anderson

Photographer and Publicity Designer - Dickon Knowles

Production Assistants - Rebecca Cavill and Caroline Pullford

Original Music by Alice Haughton

Very special thanks to Mark Rylance for providing the original inspiration for the Sonnet Walks and so generously sharing his ideas.

Huge thanks to Adrian Walker and all those at Working Families and to James Wren at Lowdown at the Albany, G and his staff at the Albany, Melissa and her staff at the Aveda salon, the Reverend Paul Thomas and all those at St Marylebone Parish Church, Justine and the staff of the Holiday Inn on Welbeck Street and Hayley Krugar and the staff of the Wallace Collection for welcoming the walk onto their premises.

Audience comments

A lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.  Loved the marriage in church.
- Christine

Do it again!!  Make more people come – although it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon as a couple!  Thank you.
- Camille and James

I loved the walk, it was wonderfully planned, especially the song played by E Barrett’s home site! Well done.

I enjoyed this very much, it made me re-look at this area with fresh eyes and fresh ears.  The actors were great!

Wonderful to look and see new things in a town I’ve always lived in.  Lovely intro to her and her poetry.

Thought it was great – fantastic variety of presentations.  Lovely poetry vividly brought to (real) life…
- JK

Very well thought out.  Wonderful.
- JR

Some great settings and inspired performances.  Occasionally inaudible but overall – thoroughly enjoyable.  Thank you.

Some brought tears to my eyes!!  A celebration of love, literature and performance – good for the soul – an inspiration!  Abi’s work is tops.
- Helen

A lovely journey around a place I thought I knew well!  Thanks for bringing Marylebone alive, best wishes for future productions.
- Hayley

An interesting idea, well executed.  A great way to see Marylebone.  Perhaps use some less busy street corners.

Feel overwhelmed by the passion of the poetry, the beauty of the architecture and the quality of the performances. Have smiled from start to finish.  Lovely.
- MK

A really entrancing experience and a lovely, original idea.  The poems were brought to life.  Thank you all.
- Ruth S S

An excellent and unique idea.  The poems (and the writers) came to life.  Thank you! Let us know of future events!

What a lovely, enlightening walk and the poets were all lovely.  We enjoyed it immensely.  Please continue your good work.

A really wonderful way to spend a Sunday, detailed and imaginative, we smiled all the way round – deserves a big audience and lots of funds for future walks!
- Kate

Thoroughly enjoyed!!  Fresh and exhilarating!!

What a wonderful thing!  Very, very enjoyable, beautiful, informative and moving – thank you!
- Katy

Fantastic!  Do it again!!
- Danny

The sonnet walk was amazing.  Both romantic, educational and insightful.  Great to discover more about EBB and also about the fascinating Marylebone area of London.  Well done.
- Natasha

A wonderful day with fantastic performances, presented with captivating sincerity!  So many wonderful poets in London’s history – I look forward to many more poetic walks – Milton, Keates, Rossetti?!  Thank you for making our Valentine’s so special.
- Tim Watkinson

A delight from start to finish.

A very warm and moving experience – make it a yearly event.

A wonderful and inspiring tour.  I shall recommend it to friends.
- Sharon H

A lovely and moving experience.  Thank you.  Please do it again.  PS My husband loved it too!
- Jean G

Lovely idea and very well organised.  A really nice day, I enjoyed it very much.
- Anne W

Brilliant idea and so well executed – so effective when the actors ‘come from nowhere’.

What a wonderful and original idea!  And so well performed.  I really hope that you can secure funding to do this walk again – and more please!  Please let me know about your future events – thanks.
- Michael K

Had such a lovely walk, I’d definitely do it again.  Performers were brilliant.
- Rachel M

Thank you very much I’ve had a lovely day.  I really hope you can do it again next year.
- Mike E

Very original.  Enjoyed it.
- Gareth

Really enjoyed it, loved the way people jumped out of their surroundings… I began to suspect everyone was about to recite me a sonnet.
- Susannah P

Very enjoyable walk.  It would have been better to be given the text of the poems at the end of the walk rather than just a list of them.

Lots of fun, very imaginative, fresh air and poetry!

Excellent!  Fascinating part of London and all the poems were beautifully done.

Very lovely, thank you.

Dear Scary Little Girls, thanks for a wonderful walk around Marylebone!  I loved the pleasant, artful blend of poem and surrounds of old and contemporary.  Well done.
- Anne and Katie

Absolutely fabulous and enchanting – Well done and thank you.
- Julia

Great balance between guiding us and letting us find our way round.  We were surprised at every turn – beautifully set up.  The actors read in a lovely, direct, clear, non-pretentious and heartfelt way.  We will be back next time!

Had a lovely time and saw some new parts of London.
- GR

huge congratulations to you and everyone involved for such a wonderful event at the weekend.  Moving, inspiring and memorable.  Enjoyed it on so many levels. (And the finale on that staircase was quite something!)
Must go and get a copy of those sonnets!  Well done again to all and thank you.
Julia L

Thank you all so much for a most enjoyable & well organised romantic walk. The weather was superb with lovely sunshine, the venues & the poets were outstanding & the roses & herbal tea at Aveda were a real bonus. Well done to all the organisers who must have worked really hard to get it all together. We are always walking around London in secret hideaways but this walk was a special treat. Many thanks to all concerned & we look forward to more excursions.
Every good wish
Gloria & Ron P

hi everybody
i wanted to thank you all so much for the wonderful show you envolved me last sunday the 17th from 1 o'clock on, around E.B.Browning's places: such a closeness with people and events doesn't often even happen in real life.
And i'd like to especially thank the young lady who sang "the face of all the world is changed, i think" at 50 Wimpole st. Her voice and her tenderness were such a relief to hear and feel.
Thank you again and long life to scarylittlegirls!
hoping to meet you again
best regards,
flavio g a

Thank you so much for a glorious afternoon. It was a really special event, full of fun and surprises. The route was easy to follow and very interesting, taking in some amazing places I never even knew were there as well as making use of more unusual venues. The performances were excellent too, making the sonnets sing and sound clear as a bell.
Christabel
Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the sonnet walk! Such an awesome idea and perfectly executed.  I keep expecting every runner we pass to trip up in front of us and give us a sonnet...but they just swear and run away. Let me know about the next project the 'scary lil girls' do!

will

My husband, a friend and I came on the walk to experience the wonderful sonnets of Elizabeth Browning. We all enjoyed ourselves very much and are full of praise for all who took part and also for those who organised the whole thing.
 
In the church, my husband was chosen to receive the recitation of the poem -  the 43rd Sonnet. How extraordinary it was for us - we will have been married for 43 years in April! Our marriage too was not approved of at the time.
 
The poems are very powerful and through this experience we have all been led to explore the beautiful language of Elizabeth Browning.
 
Thank you all and please keep sending me emails about future productions.

Jean G

The highlight of the Sonnet Walk for me was my romantic encounter with Sally Mortemore in the beautiful St Marylebone Parish Church!! She took my hand, gazed deep into my eyes and listed the various ways she loved me!!!
The organisers and the actors did a great job and the detailed planning resulted in a smooth-running and most enjoyable experience for the walkers.
Ross A