Based on Charles Dickens ode to London and the River Thames, Our Mutual Friend, the play opens with a body being pulled from the river. Its complex story weaves together the lives of  the mysterious John Rokesmith, believed to be the dead body, and Bella Wilfer, his never-met fiancée, as well as Lizzie Hexam and her ambitious brother, Charley, her friend Jenny, an impoverished waif, and two lawyers, Eugene and Mortimer. Social mobility, moral short cuts for survival, corruption in the pursuit of wealth and social status, mercenary occupations and marriages are themes popular in Victorian times and today.

Directed by Ian Rickson (Jerusalem, The Weir, Mojo, Betrayal) and adapted from the novel by Ben Power (The Lehman Trilogy, Medea) the play's haunting original music is scored and performed by celebrated singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. Newcomer Ellie-May Sheridan, aged 18,  gripped the audience’s heart strings and won Best Performance in a Play at the Stage Debut Awards 2024, for her part as Jenny Wren.

Monica supported the production because of her affection for Our Mutual Friend and also her long association with Ian Rickson who was artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre when she founded the American Friends of the Royal Court Theatre in the US. 

Watch London Tide on National Theatre Home, now streaming.