Letters to Joan made me homesick. It compelled me to walk the long way home listening to music and feeling existential, then ring my grandparents to chat for hours when I got back.
The concept of the piece is beautiful. Writer Sam Streight discovered her grandparents’ love letters from the 1950s, which inspired her to write a play exploring family connections, traits, and stories that repeat across generations.
The narrative unfolds along two timelines: Sam and her grandfather in a diner in the present, and Joan and her husband falling in love in 1956. This format works brilliantly, and the intergenerational cast of Sam Streight and Kevin Cahill bring both strands vividly to life.
Cahill is exceptional as Sam’s grandfather. Warmth and wisdom seep from his delivery, and he exudes a magnetic familiarity that makes his presence deeply touching.
Streight is equally impressive. The look on her face as she listened so intently to her grandfather’s words was truly poetic, and it beautifully captured the intimacy of their relationship.
The subplot of Sam worrying that she will meet the same fate as her grandmother—an aspiring playwright who became trapped by societal expectations and motherhood—is undoubtedly compelling. However, I wished the characters were fleshed out further to deepen this theme. At times, the device of reading letters aloud felt overused, serving as a narrative tool for its own sake rather than adding richness. Perhaps this shallowness was intentional: keeping Joan and Leonard at an arm’s length mirrors Sam’s own distance from her grandparents.
A typewriter is used as a clever prop throughout, punctuating sentences and adding rhythm to the performance. The central hook of letter writing is particularly effective, specific enough to tell one story, yet universal enough to resonate deeply with the audience.
At the close of the show, Streight invited us to write our own letters on postcards. Perhaps it was the delirium of the Fringe’s final stretch, but the emotional catharsis I felt—both from the performance and the communal ritual of letter writing—was significant.
Letters to Joan is a gorgeous tribute to grief, grandparents, and the art of correspondence. It is a moving reminder to cherish people, ask questions, and say how you feel.
The show is running until 23 August at Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of the Letters to Joan team, provided to The Student as press material.