What happens in Fanny?
Berlin, the mid-nineteenth century. Fanny Mendelssohn is a brilliant composer trapped by the conventions of her time and class — gifted with a musical mind to match her brother Felix's, but expected by her mother to marry, manage a household and let the family's genius reputation rest squarely on the man in the house. Music, for Fanny, is a private act conducted in stolen hours, with no public outlet, no credit, no audience.
The secret behind Italien
One day Felix returns home with extraordinary news: Queen Victoria has named one of his pieces — Italien — her favourite composition, and has performed it for him at the palace. There is just one problem. Felix did not write Italien. Fanny did. Some years earlier the piece had been quietly published under Felix's name, as several of her works were, because a composition under a woman's signature would never have reached the British court.
The intercepted letter
When a letter arrives from England inviting Felix to return and premiere a new orchestral work for Queen Victoria personally, Fanny does something extraordinary. She hides the letter. With the unwitting help of Wilhelm Hensel — the painter she is being courted into marrying — she sets off on a caper across Europe to reach London herself, and to claim her rightful place at the palace under her brother's identity.
The chase
What follows is part period comedy, part travelogue caper, part audience-interactive farce. Fanny's mother Lea and siblings give chase across France, the Low Countries and the Channel; Wilhelm fluctuates between besotted accomplice and unwitting straight man; and the deception threatens to unravel at every customs post and inn stop. Behind the puns and physical comedy sits the play's real question: what will it cost Fanny, professionally and personally, to be heard at all?
How Fanny reached the King's Head Theatre
The Watermill premiere, 2024
Fanny had its world premiere at The Watermill Theatre in Newbury in 2024. The Watermill — known for nurturing new work in actor-musician form and for productions that often transfer to London — paired Calum Finlay's script with director Katie-Ann McDonough and lead Charlie Russell. The production received a four-star WhatsOnStage review and strong national press notices, establishing the show as a candidate for transfer.
Charlie Russell and Mischief Theatre
Russell is best known as one of the original co-founders of Mischief Theatre, the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and the BBC's The Goes Wrong Show. Her physical comedy training and her instinct for navigating a script when something on stage genuinely misfires — a skill required of every Mischief performer — turned out to be useful for Fanny, where the play's deliberate breakings of the fourth wall and audience-participation sequences put significant improvisational demands on the lead.
The King's Head Theatre transfer
Producers RJG Productions, with The Watermill as associate producer, brought Fanny to the King's Head Theatre in Islington for a five-week limited run from 10 October to 15 November 2025, with national press night on 16 October. The King's Head — under its current artistic team — has built a strong autumn programme around new comedy and revivals, and Fanny anchored that season. A change of cast for Wilhelm and the introduction of the Rebecka role (replacing the Watermill production's Clara) accounted for the bulk of the differences between the two productions.
Critical reception
London reviewers were largely positive, with stars for the production typically falling in the three-to-four range. Critics consistently praised Russell's lead performance and the play's underlying point about creative erasure, while several found the second-act tonal shifts uneven and the pacing strained in places. The supporting performances — particularly Kim Ismay's Lea Mendelssohn and Jeremy Lloyd's Paul — were widely highlighted.
What's next
As of May 2026 no further productions of Fanny have been announced. Calum Finlay has not announced a new project, and Charlie Russell continues to work primarily with Mischief Theatre. The Watermill and the King's Head have both moved on to other autumn-season programming. A regional tour, West End transfer or international production would require fresh announcement.
