2025
Giles Shenton Productions presents
Florence Flo Smith: Now and Then
Wednesday 31st August
It’s 1969 and a woman looks back on her life in London. From the Boer War to The Summer of Love, Flo Smith – daughter, sister, wife, mother, widow and grandmother – recalls with horror, humour, tears and joy those turbulent times at home and in the world beyond her front door.
Christopher Saul was a drama student in his final year, casting around for a subject for his dissertation. He hit on the idea of interviewing and recording the reminiscences of Florence Smith, his paternal grandmother. “Nanny Smith” was happy to oblige and so, for several days in the Spring of 1969, he sat in her cosy living room at number 36 Richie House, Hazelville Road, North London, drinking copious amounts of tea and listening avidly while spool after spool of his tape recorder was filled with her recollections.
Florence told him of her Victorian childhood, her marriage to a young man who was later seriously wounded in the First World War (his grandfather), her struggle to put food on the table for her hungry children in the 1930s, and her harrowing experiences of the London Blitz.
For the times, it was a common enough story and yet for all that a unique one too, as unique as any human being’s life. Using the original transcripts, and working closely with actress Ursula Mohan, a first draft of the play was formed in 2017. It has been worked on continuously since into the now highly acclaimed production touring the UK.
Run time: 80 minutes
Age recommendation: 12+
Doors open 1 hour before the performance starts
Full Price £12
Concession £10
