Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey is adapting Barbara Pym’s Quartet in Autumn, with the world premiere set to be staged at the Arcola Theatre in May 2026.
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole, Quartet in Autumn brings to life Pym’s wry, poignant and hopeful meditation on life through the lives of four Londoners – an ode to ageing, friendship and the strange poetry of everyday life. It is developed for the stage by Rachel Edwards and Dromgoole.
In 1970s London, four co-workers approach retirement, each quietly marking time. As the seasons turn, they go about their daily rituals and routines. Marcia hoards tinned food and drifts into solitude. Letty dreams of something more. Edwin, a widower, finds refuge in the church. Norman rails against modern life. Together, they form a quartet – a fragile compact to get through the days.
Quartet in Autumn will run at the Arcola Theatre in London from May 7 – June 13, 2026. Tickets here.
Top image: Quartet in Autumn artwork (image supplied)