Try tuning the radio
“The theater’s a pile of rubble, our stage manager’s in prison, half the orchestra is missing. Why not just for tonight, we let Fate run its course?”
Living Room Productions presents
– a new play by Ellyn Heald, December 9–19, 2026 at the Episcopal Actors' Guild, New York CityLondon. January 5th, 1941. The twelfth day of Christmas. A troupe of actors mount a performance of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy during the Blitz.
Written & directed by Ellyn Heald (and William Shakespeare)
Music by Will Healy & Ellyn Heald
December 9–19, 2026
Episcopal Actors' Guild, New York
Ticket information coming soon.
Industry reading
October 16, 2026
A.R.T. New York
January 5, 1941
On one of the coldest nights of the century, a troupe of actors gather at the local church hall to mount Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’.
In the morning, James, one of their leading men, ships out to war. No one says it, but everyone knows this is the last night they’ll all be together. Old tensions surface fast, and a scheme is hatched to give him a send-off worth remembering.
Grief and gallows humor bleed into Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identities, and what emerges is a singular theatrical experience that embraces the chaos, joy, and beauty of the reality around them – that can’t seem to escape the horrors of the war happening right outside the door.
For one night, four hundred years of mirth and melancholy find new life, held together by music, nerve, and a dash of holiday magic.
Sponsor a character
Katherine
plays Viola
A trained nurse and volunteer Air Raid Warden, Katherine also has very useful friends in the black market ration trade.
Meet Katherine →
James
plays Sebastian
A sensitive soul, James started out as a stagehand but showed an aptitude for performance, and is now a rising star within the company.
Meet James →
Ronald
plays Malvolio
Our troupe’s founder and leader, Ronald briefly served in the Home Forces at the outbreak of the war.
Meet Ronald →
Betty
plays Olivia
Betty is the indomitable engine of the company.
Meet Betty →
Nigel
plays Duke Orsino
A newer face in the troupe, Nigel washed up after Dunkirk and quietly walked away from the war, though “Nigel” may or may not be the name he started with.
Meet Nigel →
Ann
plays Maria
An American who crossed the Atlantic before the war, Ann has earned every step of her rise through the ranks.
Meet Ann →
George
plays Sir Andrew
Newer to the company and full of enthusiasm, George shares a crowded flat in East London with relatives who lost their homes in the early days of the Blitz.
Meet George →
Charlie
plays Sir Toby Belch
The troupe’s longest-serving member, Charlie aspires to be a playwright but can’t seem to get Ronald to read his work.
Meet Charlie →
John
plays Feste
A northern lad and gifted composer, John primarily serves as the company’s music supervisor but occasionally takes on supporting acting roles.
Meet John →
Backstory
In the early 1940s…
…actor-manager Donald Wolfit led his Advance Players Association, a troupe that performed Shakespeare plays across England to war-weary audiences.
He paid for the productions out of his own pocket, and laid out black market ham sandwiches and coffee for his grateful, thronging patrons. The British Government soon deemed his work as essential for morale, while newspapers of the day said there was “no better national service” one could perform in wartime.
Performances continued during the Blitz, even as air raid sirens wailed. Audiences were told they could “depart quickly and without excitement.”
Most stayed.
Our production explores our insatiable need to hear and tell stories that can both reflect our collective experience and dissolve the tension of a world on fire.
January 5th, 1941. The twelfth day of Christmas.
Just as Viola washes ashore in a strange land, and Olivia suffers the loss of her family, our actors find themselves shipwrecked in their own city, with so many of their homes and streets reduced to rubble.
For all of them, and perhaps for us, the path through the darkest days is the same: choosing joy in the face of mortality. Gather together, tell stories, laugh, play music – and live fully, in defiance of the dark.
Latest
The staged reading for industry guests will be presented Friday, October 16th at 2:00 PM at ART NY's Leynse Studio. NEW YORK, NY — Living Room Productions, in partnership with the AFLAMDA Studio Reading Room Series, will present an industry staged reading of…
If you’re interested in supporting this show and helping it become a reality, please do consider giving to our project.
Living Room Productions · 1941
Twelfth Night: 1941
Production Fund
$27,516 raised · 61% of our $45,000 goal
$17,484 still needed. Donations help us fill up the book until we reach our goal.
Nearly half of our budget goes directly to the artists.
This is rare in independent theater. We believe it’s the only ethical way to work. Your contribution funds people, not overhead.
Stipends for 10 actors, 3 musicians, creative and production team
3.5 weeks of rehearsal space and 2.5 weeks of performances
Immersive set, period costumes for 13 people, props
Press, design, and audience development
Administration, insurance, and contingency
Total goal$45,000
KatherineViola
JamesSebastian
RonaldMalvolio
BettyOlivia
NigelDuke Orsino
AnnMaria
GeorgeSir Andrew
CharlieSir Toby Belch
JohnFeste
Creative team
Founded by professional actors and graduates of the world-famous London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Living Room Productions started in 2023 in Ellyn’s Brooklyn living room, where a group of friends would regularly get together to read plays and share new works in progress.
These ‘artist potlucks,’ as they were lovingly nicknamed, grew into a beloved community event and eventually led to LRP’s first fully mounted productions in 2025. Following the success of its inaugural season, LRP became a Fellow of the Satellite Collective (opens in a new tab), a prestigious arts incubator and 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.
LRP is a fiscally sponsored, 501(c)(3) theatre company dedicated to reviving classics, empowering new and underproduced voices, and the radical idea that art is best made in community. We produce theatre that is intimate by design and ambitious by nature.
Inspired by incredible true events, in the midst of the relentless raids on London in early 1941, a troupe of actors must relocate their production of Twelfth Night to a church hall after their theatre was bombed out the night before. Against the odds, and with half their orchestra and stage manager missing, they piece together a show, but the reality of life outside the theatre is never far away.
December 9–19, 2026 at the Episcopal Actors' Guild, 1 East 29th Street, New York, NY 10016 (opens in a new tab). Ticket information will be announced here.
October 16, 2026 at A.R.T. New York (520 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018 (opens in a new tab)). To ask about attending, use the contact form on this page.
The show runs 90 minutes with 9 actors, 3 musicians, and original live music throughout.
Written and directed by Ellyn Heald (and William Shakespeare), with music by Will Healy and Ellyn Heald. It is produced by Living Room Productions.
It is inspired by incredible true events. In the early 1940s, actor-manager Donald Wolfit led his Advance Players Association, a troupe that performed Shakespeare plays across England to war-weary audiences, and performances continued during the Blitz even as air raid sirens wailed.
Give online through GiveLively, through Benevity for corporate matching, or by check to Satellite Collective c/o Living Room Productions. You can also sponsor a character’s costume and supplies. Living Room Productions is fiscally sponsored by Satellite Collective, a 501(c)(3).
Get in touch
For industry reading details, press, or anything else, write to us and we’ll get back to you.