Blog Tour: A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

It’s a pleasure to be closing the A Theatre for Dreamers blog tour, Polly Samson’s dreamy delight that whisks you away to 1960s Hydra (the Greek island, rather than the mythical many-headed serpent monster…) where we meet a few familiar faces, including musician Leonard Cohen.

Opening sentence: ‘It’s a climb from the port and I take the steps of Donkey Shit Lane at a steady pace, a heart-shaped stone in my pocket.‘

Narrated by Erica, A Theatre for Dreamers is Polly Samson’s fictional account of a real life creative artists commune on Hydra. Writers (and tempestuous couples) Charmian Clift and George Johnston and Axel Jensen and Marianne Ihlen, along with Leonard Cohen worked, created and lived there and we discover their relationships and lives. (Their real story is fascinating – read about it here.)

Lead character Erica is an impressionable teenager when she goes to Hydra looking to discover more about her mother, her past and everything the wild, free lives of these poets, writers and artists can offer her.

I love it when authors draw real events and people into their fictional stories, so this was a huge plus here. As your chances of popping to Greece are slim this year, let this book take you there instead. An immersive and satisfying read, A Theatre for Dreamers is perfect for your summer reading list.

• Thank you Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inclusion in this tour;
• Snap up your copy here;
• Published by Bloomsbury April 2020;
• 368 pages
• My rating:

About the Author:

Polly Samson is the author of two short story collections and two previous novels. Her work has been shortlisted for prizes, translated into several languages and has been dramatised on BBC Radio 4. She has written lyrics to four number one albums and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.