Letters to Joan is a theatre show at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 that tells a story spanning decades through discovered love letters. Set partly in 1956 Brooklyn, it follows an aspiring playwright whose letters to her boyfriend reveal desire and ambition. Decades later, her granddaughter, also a writer, uncovers these letters and explores the love story cut short and a dream left unfinished. The narrative shifts between a hopeful Brooklyn summer and a nostalgic present-day American diner, where past and present blend. The granddaughter connects with the man who once held her grandmother’s heart, reflecting on the choices that shaped their lives.
The show runs from August 1 to 23 (except August 10 and 17) at 19:45, suitable for audiences aged 12 and over. It features a single performer who plays multiple roles and combines storytelling with emotional depth, focusing on themes of love, legacy, and lost dreams.
On a noisy George Street in Edinburgh, opposite the venue fr her show, Paul Levy chatted to Samantha Streit about the origin story for Letters to Joan and how the show developed into a piece ready for the Fringe.
We also caught up with actor Kevin Cahill, who plays the grandather in the show. According to Sam:
“One of the most extraordinary moments in this journey happened when I met Kevin Cahill while performing in a Shakespeare festival in Oregon. My grandfather was a high school history teacher, and Kevin was a retired high school English teacher himself.
“We bonded over poetry, literature, and hikes through the mountains, and on the last day, he handed me a letter. In it, he wrote that our conversations had been “edifying” and included the works of a poet he once met who had moved him deeply. The words resonated in a way I couldn’t explain, and I knew then that Kevin had to play my grandfather.”
Book tickets here
