Based on the totally unfounded tale of her great-great-grandmother, 'magnetic' (Telegraph) Polly Waldron serves up this rags-to-radicals tale that loosens the seams of 1913's London…

In this ‘thoughtfully written and engaging’ (The Scotsman) solo performance about memory and inheritance, Polly, as an amateur genealogical researcher, uncovers the story of her own great-grandmother Alice Sainsbury.

The rumours of Polly’s childhood said that Alice had been a maid in a champagne-socialist household in Marylebone in 1913 and had there fallen pregnant with the child of a Russian Prince who was on the run from the revolution. The child was given up for adoption, and so Alice ultimately disappeared from the family history.

In a series of fictional micro-monologues, Polly navigates a host of opinions, rumours and gossip from the voices of people connected to Alice, and through these a story of Alice’s life as it might have been, is woven. Only the voice of Alice herself remains silent while Polly plays siblings, employers, and even total strangers, who could have borne witness to this woman’s adventures.

‘Shiver’ premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2019.