“Poetry by nature is insulated and indulgent. Only some small degree of emotional restraint keeps it from being indulgent, and some small degree of sharing it with others keeps it from being insulated…”

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Max Ritvo is an exceptional young man. At just twenty years old, he’s a student at Yale, performing in an experimental comedy troupe, and writing poetry containing wisdom and insight far beyond his years. Eager to explore writing in all its forms, Max applies to Sarah Ruhl’s playwriting workshop. And in Sarah, he quickly realises he has found not only a mentor, but a friend.

When Max finds out his childhood cancer has returned, the two correspond continually – pursuing an understanding of life and of art and sharing their innermost thoughts with honesty and generosity. Based on their real communications, Letters from Max is a rich mosaic of letters, poetry, music and dialogue that tests theatre’s ability to express the ineffable.

Sarah Ruhl is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for her plays In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and The Clean House. Letters From Max premiered in New York in 2023.

Director Blanche McIntyre returns to Hampstead following her triumphant production of The Invention of Love. Her previous credits include The House of Shades and The Writer (both Almeida) and Tartuffe (National Theatre).

At some performances the cellist will be Alice Purton/Gabriella Swallow.