April 3-6 2024 - 7:30 p.m. Tarragon Extra Space theatre

Not only are Shirley Jackson’s stories as popular as ever but her lifestyle and struggles remain as relevant today as they were during her lifetime. She shocked readers, then shocked them again when it became known that they were written by a female. Shirley Jackson was not one for the typical housewife role, but society tried to impose this on her. Additional pressure came when her writing career surpassed that of her husband’s career. He was known to cheat on his wife, and she was expected to turn a blind eye—he even taunted her by writing letters to his wife about his affairs.

These personal struggles are touched upon by our play’s narrator, playing the role of Shirley Jackson, and introducing each of the four stories presented in our show.

DARK TALES: AN EVENING WITH SHIRLEY JACKSON presents four eerie tales by one of America’s best writers. We open with “What a Thought” in which a loving and good wife has several dark desires all of which will lead to her husband's murder if she acts upon them. This is followed by “All She Said Was Yes” about an ignored but prophetic young girl—does this suggest how Jackson herself felt and different times of her life—ignored? Our third story is “Jack the Ripper”. A caring husband; a wife who, maybe, turns a blind eye. And we end with “The Bus” about an elderly woman caught up in her past and frustrated by the people she encounters.