Letters to Joan: A Love Letter Across Time
Two years ago, I stumbled upon hundreds of love letters my grandparents wrote when they first met. Both passed away before I was eleven, and though I have memories of them, I never truly knew them. But in reading their words, I felt as if I was meeting them for the first time.
That discovery became Letters to Joan, premiering this summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival—the largest arts festival in the world.
About the Play & Its Heart
This play is a conversation across time— In 1956 Brooklyn, an aspiring playwright falls in love, her letters brimming with desire and ambition. Decades later, her granddaughter, a writer herself, uncovers them—tracing the arc of a love story cut short and a dream left unfinished. Between that Brooklyn summer alive with possibility and a present-day American diner steeped in nostalgia, past and present blur. She sits across from the man who once held her grandmother’s heart, wrestling with the choices that shaped two lives. Letters to Joan is a true story that explores the dreams we chase, the ones we abandon, and the unshakable longing for the life that might have been.
✨ I have written this play, I will be performing in it, and I am self-producing it. But I can't do it alone.
Why We Need Your Help
Bringing a show to Fringe is a monumental task. Venue hire alone costs over £4,000. Add in housing, marketing, a director, technical support, and that total quickly climbs past £10,000. Every single donation will go directly toward making this play possible—not for profit, but to share a story about memory, love, and unfinished dreams. And to gather a production team of artists, technicians, and dreamers who believe in theatre, in storytelling, and in love stories like this one.
The Motivation Behind the Play
My grandmother, I discovered, once dreamed of being a playwright. She studied playwriting at Columbia University, in New York City, just a block from where I later found myself writing at The Hungarian Pastry Shop, eating the same cheese danishes, staring at my own pages. But life took her in a different direction, and she never pursued that dream. Now, as I prepare to bring my first play to Edinburgh, it feels like I am not only realizing my dream, but hers as well.
“What a strange feeling you get wandering among old memories, suddenly reimmersed in the dimensions of a past you had forgotten existed.” My grandma perfectly stated how I feel about this project. In a way, this play is my love letter back to her.
Serendipity in the Journey
I return again and again to one letter my grandfather wrote:
"I keep reading your letters over and over. They capture so fully and beautifully you—with your love of life and your mature understanding of so many things. I can almost breathe the laughter and happiness overflowing these pages before me."
I wonder if he knew then that her words would live on in ways she never expected. Now, it is me reading their letters over and over, trying to capture them in return.
One of the most extraordinary pieces of serendipity in this process came when I met Kevin Cahill while performing in a Shakespeare festival in Oregon. My grandfather was a high school history teacher and Kevin was a retired high school English teacher himself. We bonded over poetry, literature, and hikes through the mountains, and on the last day, he handed me a letter. In it, he wrote that our conversations had been "edifying" and included the works of a poet he once met who had moved him deeply. The words resonated in a way I couldn’t explain, and I knew then that Kevin had to play my grandfather.
The serendipities surrounding this project are endless. I recently learned that Edinburgh was one of my grandmother’s favorite places, making it feel all the more fated to premiere the play there. And the venue we’ve secured, Greenside, feels like the perfect home—a space dedicated to intimate, heartfelt storytelling. My last one-woman show explored the magic of forests as places of freedom and transformation, and now, here I am again, creating something in a venue named for nature, in a city my grandmother loved.
How You Can Help:
To support this project is to help bring two dreams to life—mine and my grandmother’s.
This project has been my life. I have written it, I am acting in it, I am self-producing it, and every single event planned is a labor of love. I am not making money from this experience—every donation goes directly into making it possible. Through donating, you are not only allowing my dreams to be realized but also my grandmother’s. You are helping me follow through with what she could not finish, giving voice to a story that was left unwritten.
What Your Donation Will Fund
- Venue hire: £4,000+
- Housing
- Lighting, sound design, set build
- Getting the word out – the Fringe is huge and they recommend distributing over 2,500 flyers!
I will also be hosting community & fundraising events —letter readings, concerts, diner experiences, workshops, even a Guys & Dolls-themed party!
Why This Show Matters
So for everyone that’s ever felt lost, or been in love, or chased big crazy dreams, I want to bring that to life for you through the play, but also through shared events. I’m working hard to create experiences that invite others into the heart of this play. This project isn’t about profit; it’s about honoring two people who shaped me and about creating a space for anyone who has ever wondered if they’ll be remembered, if their words will last.
As my grandmother once wrote: "Lenny, something very wonderful happened to me when I met you, something I’ve been waiting for 23 years of my life and selfish soul that I am, I have no intention of giving it up so easily."
I feel that same way about this play. It is a piece of my soul, and I am determined to see it come to life.
The Show Details
Letters to Joan will be part of the Edinburgh Fringe, running from 01.08.25 to 23.08.25, every day except the 10th and 17th.
Time: 19:45 - 20:45
Venue: Greenside @ George Street’s Mint Studio
Thank you, truly, for reading this far and for being part of this story. I cannot wait to share it with you.