Acorn

Written BY OLIVIA MUNK

DIRECTED BY JESSICA BICKEL-BARLOW

Photos by Alessandra Davison

Julian is a spinster who recently survived the bubonic plague. Tormented by unwelcome visions of God and fed up with her lack of choices, she responds to a vacancy at the local church and applies to become their ‘anchoress’ — a person permanently entombed in the bowels of a church to live a life of contemplation. 

While enduring a trial period in the local jail, she encounters Margery Kempe, a traveling mystic constantly at odds with the Church. Margery forces Julian to confront the irreversible decision ahead of her: is a room of one’s own worth it if you can never leave? 

Acorn is the Olivia Munk’s first play inspired by the real-life historical friendship of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. The first two scenes were performed digitally and in-person as part of the 2020 Virtual Collaborators Festival under the working title ‘Brick’. Julian was played by Charlotte Blandford, and The Priest/Margery by Hannah Rosen. The performance can be viewed here.