Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Performance
- Narrated by: Edwina Wren, Harvey Zielinski, Helen Morse, Lara Robinson, Melissa Madden Grey, Sylvie DeCrespigny, Tamala Shelton
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.00 for first 30 days
The Performance
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
The false cold of the theatre makes it hard to imagine the heavy wind outside in the real world, the ash air pressing onto the city from the nearby hills where bushfires are taking hold. The house lights lower. The auditorium feels hopeful in the darkness.
Melbourne, Australia. As bushfires rage outside the city, three women watch a performance of a Beckett play.
Margot is a successful professor, preoccupied by her fraught relationship with her ailing husband. Ivy is a philanthropist with a troubled past, distracted by the snoring man beside her. Summer is a young theatre usher, anxious about the safety of her girlfriend in the fire zone.
As the performance unfolds, so does each woman's story. By the time the curtain falls, they will all have a new understanding of the world beyond the stage.
Critic reviews
"A potent meditation on the intensity of women's lives." (Charlotte Wood, author of The Weekend)
"Read it as soon as you possibly can." (Emily Bitto, author of The Strays)
"I read from start to finish almost without looking up." (Clare Bowditch, author of Your Own Kind of Girl)
"Quietly transformational." (The Times)
"A tour de force.... I can't recommend this too highly." (Patrick Gale)
"Innovative... an original, at-a-sitting read." (Daily Mail)
"A miracle.... Engaging and evocative." (Washington Post)
"I loved and admired The Performance.... Unmissable." (Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters)
"Lively and intimate.... The way Thomas plays with the reader is a sort of genius." (Guardian)
"Thomas writes these women with such wisdom and compassion, that by the end we are all transformed." (Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground)
More from the same
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.