The Argonauts
by Maggie Nelson
an epic reading
directed by Gabriella Bird & Joseph Winters
An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family. A timely and genre-bending memoir that offers fresh and fierce reflections on motherhood, desire, identity and feminism.
At the centre of The Argonauts is the love story between Maggie Nelson and the artist Harry Dodge, who is fluidly gendered. As Nelson undergoes the transformations of pregnancy, she explores the challenges and complexities of mothering and queer family making.
This six-hour unabridged reading features an ever changing cast of female, trans* and non-binary actors.
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS' CIRCLE AWARD FOR CRITICISM
"The Argonauts rewards us with an expansive way of considering identity, caretaking, and freedom... Maybe it will change the way we think and speak about others and ourselves?" - Emma Watson
"[A] meditation on gender fluidity and motherhood' - New Statesman
'Provocative and passionately brilliant' -Geoff Dyer
'One of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation.' Olivia Laing, author of The Trip to Echo Springs
'Nelson proposes a completely different way of looking at sex and sexuality, child-rearing and childbirth and everything else... [I] absolutely love this book.' - Jenny Turner, London Review of Books
'A complicated, intimate book about motherhood and identity. Perfect for escaping into' Grace Dent, Evening Standard
'I read The Argonauts in one breathless, tearful, mind-blown day and I'm still recovering.' Miranda July, author of The First Bad Man
'Maggie Nelson cuts through our culture's prefabricated structures of thought and feeling with an intelligence whose ferocity is ultimately in the service of love. No piety is safe, no orthodoxy, no easy irony. The scare quotes burn off like fog.' Ben Lerner, author of 10:04
'A superb exploration of the risk and the excitement of change. Thinking and feeling are, for Nelson, mutually necessary processes; the result is an exceptional portrait both of a romantic partnership and of the collaboration between Nelson s mind and heart.' New Yorker
'This book is a life-changer' Carrie Brownstein, The New York Times
Doors will open at 11am
Ticket Options
You can come to Shipwright as a Garden Guest (£25) or a House Guest (£70).
All guests will watch the show from our Thames-side garden, but as a Garden Guest this is as far as you'll go. And when the single show you’ve booked for is over, you’ll have one last drink and leave before the next audience arrives.
As a House Guest, you’re helping support the work the Shipwright does. Thank you. In return, we’d like to invite you to make Shipwright your home for the whole day, with a seat at each of the shows we have programmed. You’ll also get a personal tour with members of our team, before stopping off in a private bar with sofas, indoor loos, and a cloakroom. You'll still watch from outside, but whenever you need to, you can return to a coat room inside.
We are also offering the chance for female, trans* and non-binary audience members to join the cast as readers. As a reader you'll get a free House Guest ticket for 7 August (which includes the Argonauts, and Rory Butler & Christy). You'll sit on the front row and when the time is right you'll get on stage and read your allotted section of the Argonauts. We'll be in touch once you've signed up to let you know which section you'll be reading, and to give some guidance. We ask that you arrive a little earlier on the day (11am) to run through practicalities. NB: ‘Reader’ tickets are now SOLD OUT.
The House Guest Day Pass for 7 August also includes Rory Butler & Christy (7pm)
Levantine, Greek and Portuguese flatbreads from Deptford’s favourite caterers, Klose & Soan.
Check out the menu for our summer festival – three delicious flatbread options with heaped side salads, so that you don’t have to worry about eating before you get here. Make a day of it, and have dinner before the show, and drink after.
