Blessed Union
But even the loftiest ideals can come undone when pesky human emotion gets involved.
A fine new play from the wicked mind of Maeve Marsden, Blessed Union is for anyone who’s looked at their life and wondered if there might be a better way to live it.
Written by Maeve Marsden and directed by Hannah Goodwin, Blessed Union premiered at Belvoir St Theatre in February 2023, starring Danielle Cormack, Maude Davey, Emma Diaz and Jasper Lee Lindsay.
“Bless Maeve Marsden: truly. Her debut arrives during the opening week of Sydney WorldPride at Belvoir as a scorchingly funny, deeply empathetic, politically attuned and carefully layered gift.”
★★★★½ Limelight
“Charmingly clever and thrillingly sharp, Maeve Marsden’s debut play queers the contemporary domestic drama with heart-aching authenticity.”
★★★★ Guardian Australia
“This is a fresh and thoroughly modern take on the family comedy. Hilarious and heartbreaking, this play will lure you in with its light and cutting humour before it delivers an upper-cut of profound self reflection, and sends you on your way, dazed, with a Bloody Mary in hand (and a head full of trivia about the cocktail’s origin story).”
★★★★ Time Out
“Blessed Union, is seamlessly terrific. Funny, emotive, and probing. Flawless. No notes.”
★★★★★ The Queer Review
“Blessed Union’ is incredibly modern with a poignantly real script full of heart, humour and sharp social commentary.”
★★★★★ Theatre Thoughts
“Maeve Marsden’s debut play is witty and light-hearted, but five years on from the hard-fought marriage equality act it asks “now what?”
★★★½ Sydney Morning Herald,
“Maeve Marsden has sharp and wickedly funny eyes and ears for the humorous aspects of family life. Crucially, however, those ears and eyes are also humane, so what happens when Ruth and Judith set out to tell their teenage children they’re splitting up is hilarious and heartrending by turn.”
★★★★ Stage Noise
“Blessed Union is a chaotic joyride, a rapid-fire feast of words, ideas and emotions laying bare what happens when love and family are politicised.”
The Conversation
“Maeve Marsden’s script is laden with zingers, a barrage of killer lines assail us in the first act, almost an embarrassment of comic stitches embroider the domestic drama.”
Australian Stage