A Theatre for Dreamers

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A Theatre for Dreamers
A Theatre For Dreamers cover image.jpg
Cover artwork
Author Polly Samson
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre Literary fiction
Published2020 (2020)
Publisher Bloomsbury
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages368
ISBN 978-1526600554

A Theatre for Dreamers is a 2020 literary fiction novel by Polly Samson, which entered the Sunday Times Bestseller List at Number 2 upon its April 2020 release. [1] It is a fictionalized account of life on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s, featuring real-life characters who lived there at the time, including Leonard Cohen, Charmian Clift and George Johnston.

Contents

Synopsis

Set in the early 1960s, A Theatre for Dreamers tells the story of 18-year-old Erica, who escapes from her controlling father in London to live among the colony of writers, painters and musicians on the small Greek island of Hydra. Erica befriends and then observes Hydra's circle of talented but troubled bohemians, including fictionalised versions of famed real-life characters Charmian Clift, George Johnston, Axel Jensen, Marianne Ihlen, Gregory Corso, Gordon Merrick and a young, as yet undiscovered, Leonard Cohen. [2]

Reception

The novel entered The Sunday Times Bestsellers List at Number 2 upon its April 2020 release. The book also attracted favourable reviews, with Alex Preston describing it in The Observer as “a blissful piece of escapism and a powerful meditation on art and sexuality”, [3] Alex Peake-Tomkinson calling it “supremely accomplished” in The Spectator [4] and Suzi Feay for The Financial Times commenting that, “Samson is an intensely sensual writer, conjuring up blue skies, the tang of wild herbs, the vivid splash of bougainvillea ... As good as a Greek holiday, and may be the closest we get this year”. [5] The novel was featured in the 2020 Books of the Year lists by the Daily Telegraph, [6] The Spectator, [7] and The Times. [8]

The novel has had editions published in the UK, USA and Canada and has been translated for publication in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Romania and Turkey. [9]

Promotion

Upon the publication of A Theatre for Dreamers, Samson wrote a piece for the Guardian's Books section about her inspirations for the novel [10] and another about the novel's Hydra setting for the Guardian's Travel section. [11] She also wrote a piece about George Johnston and Hydra for the Financial Times. [12]

The publication was also due to be accompanied by live events in April 2020 in Manchester, Birmingham and London, featuring Samson and her husband, the musician David Gilmour. [13] These events were postponed due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Samson and Gilmour streamed a weekly series of live “Von Trapped Family” broadcasts from a barn at their home, alongside their family. These featured readings and Q&As as well as musical performances from Gilmour. [14] The “Von Trapped Family” were also featured in a special “Lockdown Culture” episode of the BBC Two’s Front Row Late programme. [15]

Audiobook

The audiobook of A Theatre for Dreamers was released by WF Howes on 25 June 2020. [16] The audiobook is narrated by Polly Samson and was produced by David Gilmour, who also provided score music and used the audiobook to debut his first new single in five years, "Yes, I Have Ghosts", featuring the couple's daughter, Romany. [17] The single's title/chorus ("Yes, I have ghosts, not all of them dead.") quotes a line from Samson's book. Upon the audiobook's release, The Times newspaper featured an interview with Samson and Gilmour about the audiobook, [18] as well as a leading article praising the "innovation" of "fusing music with audiobooks" and concluding, "The Gilmour family should be congratulated for pointing the way ahead." [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydra (island)</span> One of the Saronic Islands of Greece

Hydra, or Ydra or Idra, and in antiquity Hydrea, is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Myrtoan Sea and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strip of water. In ancient times, the island was known as Hydrea, a reference to the natural springs on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gilmour</span> English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)

David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd achieved international success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983). By the early 1980s, they had become one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history; by 2012, they had sold more than 250 million records worldwide, including 75 million in the United States. Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released three more studio albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Stephens</span> British actor

Toby Stephens is a British actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day, for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, of William Gordon in the 2005 Mangal Pandey: The Rising film and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the 2006 BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre. From 2014 to 2017, he starred as Captain Flint in the Starz television series Black Sails, followed by one of the lead roles in the Netflix science fiction series Lost in Space from 2018 to 2021. He is set to star as the Greek God Poseidon in the upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

<i>David Gilmour in Concert</i> 2002 David Gilmour solo concert DVD

David Gilmour in Concert is a DVD of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's solo concert that took place at the Royal Festival Hall, London in June 2001, as part of the Robert Wyatt-curated Meltdown festival. It also features footage filmed during three concerts at the same venue in January 2002. The track selection includes several Pink Floyd songs, in addition to Gilmour's solo works. Guest appearances are made by Floyd colleague Richard Wright, as well as Robert Wyatt and Bob Geldof. It includes the first performance of "Smile", a track that would appear almost five years later on Gilmour's third solo album, On an Island. Gilmour also plays two Syd Barrett songs.

<i>Beautiful Losers</i> 1966 Leonard Cohen novel

Beautiful Losers is the second and final novel by Canadian writer and musician Leonard Cohen. It was published in 1966, before he began his career as a singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostolos Doxiadis</span> Greek writer

Apostolos K. Doxiadis is a Greek writer. He is best known for his international bestsellers Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture (2000) and Logicomix (2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polly Samson</span> English writer

Polly Samson is an English novelist, lyricist and journalist. She is married to musician and Pink Floyd's guitarist David Gilmour and has written the lyrics to many of Gilmour's songs, including some on Pink Floyd's last two albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Axel Jensen</span> Norwegian author

Axel Buchardt Jensen was a Norwegian author. From 1957 until 2002, he published both fiction and non-fiction texts which include novels, poems, essays, a biography, and manuscripts for cartoons and animated films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmian Clift</span> Australian writer (1923–1969)

Charmian Clift was an Australian writer. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Felix</span> American musician (1938–2020)

Julie Ann Felix was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on her own record label.

"Poles Apart" is a song by Pink Floyd from the band's 1994 album, The Division Bell.

George Henry Johnston OBE was an Australian journalist, war correspondent and novelist, best known for My Brother Jack. He was the husband and literary collaborator of Charmian Clift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance Me to the End of Love</span> 1984 song by Leonard Cohen

"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen. It was first performed by Cohen on his 1984 album Various Positions. It has been recorded by various artists and in 2009 was described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Cohen</span> Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (1934–2016)

Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011 he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.

"So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Johnston (writer)</span> Writer and producer

Charles Barry Johnston, also known as Barry Alexander, is a British writer, audiobook producer, radio presenter and songwriter. He is the eldest son of the BBC cricket commentator Brian Johnston. He was a member of the British vocal group Design in the 1970s and later presented radio shows on KLOA-AM in California, US and on BBC Radio in the UK. He is now an award-winning producer of audiobooks and has also edited and written several books, including biographies of Kenneth Horne and of his father, Brian Johnston.

<i>Rattle That Lock</i> 2015 studio album by David Gilmour

Rattle That Lock is the fourth solo studio album by former Pink Floyd singer and guitarist David Gilmour. It was released on 18 September 2015 via Columbia Records. The artwork for the album was created by Dave Stansbie from The Creative Corporation under the direction of Aubrey Powell, who has worked with Gilmour and Pink Floyd since the late 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Ihlen</span> Norwegian muse and partner of Leonard Cohen

Marianne Christine Stang Ihlen was a Norwegian woman who was the first wife of author Axel Jensen and later the muse and girlfriend of Leonard Cohen for several years in the 1960s. She was the subject of Cohen's 1967 song "So Long, Marianne".

Stephen Hogan is an Irish actor and audiobook narrator.

A Ballet of Lepers: A Novel and Stories is a posthumous collection of fiction by Canadian author and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, consisting of the novella A Ballet of Lepers, fifteen short stories and a précis for a play. The collection was edited, with an afterword, by Alexandra Pleshoyano and was published in 2022.

References

  1. "Sunday Times Bestseller List". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  2. "A Theatre for Dreamers - The Sunday Times bestseller". Bloomsbury. Archived from the original on 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  3. "A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson review – sun, sex and Leonard Cohen". The Observer. April 5, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  4. "Violence and infidelity on sun-drenched Hydra: A Theatre for Dreamers, by Polly Samson, reviewed". The Spectator. April 4, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  5. "A Theatre for Dreamers — ouzo, intrigue and Leonard Cohen". Financial Times. April 17, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  6. "The best novels of 2020". Daily Telegraph. November 28, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-02
  7. "Books of the year, chosen by our regular reviewers". The Spectator. November 7, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-02
  8. "The 37 best books of 2020: our top reads from every genre". The Times. December 1, 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-02
  9. "A Theatre for Dreamers". C&W Agency. Retrieved 2022-09-13
  10. "Bohemian tragedy: Leonard Cohen and the curse of Hydra". Guardian. March 30, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  11. "Hydra, the Greek island for dreamers". Guardian. March 30, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  12. "How I spend it... Polly Samson on the Astypalaian knife". Financial Times. May 22, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  13. "A Theatre For Dreamers: An Evening Of Words And Music with Polly Samson and David Gilmour". 5x15 Events. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  14. "Watch David Gilmour cover Syd Barrett songs in lockdown". NME. May 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  15. "Lockdown Culture with Mary Beard". BBC. May 14, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-19
  16. "A Theatre For Dreamers Audiobook". W.F.Howes Ltd. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  17. "David Gilmour to Put Out First New Song in Five Years via Audiobook". Rolling Stone. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  18. "Pink Floyd star David Gilmour's novel approach to new music". The Times. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  19. "The Times view on Dave Gilmour's new release: Wish You Were Hear". The Times. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.