“The river is tidal so she has probably been carried out to sea. She loved the sea.”

I Love Vita is a poignant contemporary romantic tragedy following two relationships 100 years apart, seeking to question how expressions of love have evolved over time.

2023. Within the cozy confines of their London flat, Vita and Virginia are newly engaged. Enraptured by the intensity of her emotions, Virginia resolves to dedicate a novel to Vita, capturing all that she adores about her fiancée.

Simultaneously, about 100 years earlier (in maybe even a different world), Virginia unexpectedly arrives at the door of Vita’s home in Sissinghurst, marking the reunion of two souls separated for years. Almost immediately, Virginia becomes a permanent guest, and the two lovers clandestinely rekindle the passionate affair that once bound them, all while Virginia embarks on writing her new novel, Orlando.

Presented in parallel, the two timelines are intricately woven together, their fates drawing closer with each passing moment. As both Virginias become consumed by their writing and their intense love for Vita, they find themselves descending down a darker path, one that threatens to pull them toward a tragic, inevitable conclusion - perhaps along the banks of a river, not too far ahead.


Inspired by Love Letters: Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, Gatley’s one-act play explores themes of obsession, time and queerness to challenge the notion that life and love would be easier if we existed in the past or the future.

Writer & Director - Rosa Honey Gatley

Assistant Director - Josh Stainer

Producer - Lauren Dalboth

Movement Director - Ella Kendrick

Production Designer - Madison French

Stage Manager - Maisie Holland

Dramaturg - Ruby Woods

Virginia Now - Thea Barnes

Virginia Then - Sophie Thomas

Vita Now - Hebe Jones

Vita Then - Kitty Sharland

Photos by Madison French

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