Barefoot Arts Meander 2026 — My Name Is Lucy Barton (Julie-Anne McDowell)

Written by Elizabeth Strout and adapted by Rona Munro, My Name Is Lucy Barton is the story of a writer reckoning with the legacy of a scarred family life, coming to terms with the cost of her childhood and the rewards of her art. Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2016 and the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction 2016, and a #1 New York Times bestseller, Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout shows the most tender relationship of all; the one between a mother and daughter.

Lucy Barton wakes after an operation to discover, much to her surprise, her estranged mother at the foot of her bed. Over the course of her mother's visit, she and Lucy seem to reconnect, but just below the surface lies the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy's life. Lucy's encounter with her mother brings into sharp focus her troubled childhood in rural Illinois and her current life in New York City. Knitting these powerful memories together, Lucy begins to come to terms with her past and her future as a writer.

My Name is Lucy Barton is a story for anyone who has questioned how family defines oneself, a powerful narrative of hope and triumph about a woman who finds her truth and reclaims her story.

The production starred multiple award-nominated actor Julie-Anne McDowell (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Revlon Girl) and was directed by multiple award-winning Charmaine Weir-Smith (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Train Driver). Designs were by Kieran McGregor (Expelled).

My Name Is Lucy Barton was adapted for the stage as a one-woman show by acclaimed TV, film and theatre writer Rona Munro (winner of the Evening Standard Award, NOOK Award and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award). It opened at The Bridge Theatre in London in 2018 starring Laura Linney, who reprised her role on Broadway in 2020.