The Last Picture
Moving and delicately executed drama... Theatre at its most fundamental
The Stage
John R Wilkinson’s absorbing production... transport[s] our imaginations
The Guardian
On a school trip to a photography exhibition, Sam – an emotional support dog – gently guides a group of young people through images from Europe during World War Two.
As the photographs unfold in the audience’s imagination, a difficult conversation begins about the history of the Holocaust, empathy, and what it means to witness harm – or to look away.
Told entirely by one performer, The Last Picture invites audiences to think, feel and imagine together. There are no projected images, no replicas of the past – just live storytelling and the quiet, steady presence of Sam, creating a safe space to explore one of the darkest chapters of our shared history.
Selected from over 2,000 entries for the RSC’s 37 Plays in 2023, a national playwriting project to create a new folio of brand new plays, Catherine Dyson’s The Last Picture leads audiences through time and space, from classrooms to museums, to moments where history shifts.
Director John R. Wilkinson reunites with ETT following his direction of Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad and Me, which won Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards in 2022.
A powerful amalgamation of humour, tragedy, history, and human emotion
West End Best Friend
Robin Simpson gives a tour-de-force performance
York Mix
Unmissable, unforgettable, urgently needed theatre at its best
The York Press
For Schools
Find out more about The Last Picture, including interviews with the creative team and practical drama-based exercises to support reflection, empathy, and discussion before or after attending the performance, in this Education Pack ⬆️
On Stage
Photos: SR Taylor
