plot synopsis

Jennifer is about to become Delilah’s stepmother. She wants so badly to connect, but they couldn’t be further apart.

In a world that’s shifting under their feet, both women have to summon the quiet courage it takes to open their hearts again.

Witty and heartbreakingly human, Evening All Afternoon is a story about things lost and things remembered and how sometimes, in order to live, you have to face what’s no longer there.

select productions

— Donmar Warehouse, London, 2026 (Directed by Diyan Zora)

more press

“Anna Ziegler’s new two-hander is a hypnotic, very funny portrait of figures from different generations who discover that the loss of their mothers creates a bond of sorts between them…Ziegler cleverly leaves things unsaid… We are inside the minds of characters who speak a different language and have very different thoughts. We never want to stop eavesdropping.” — The Times ****

“Surprising and quietly powerful… A piece of storytelling that constantly surprises and never settles for the obvious…Intimate and personal…A sensitive study of the effects of grief…For the seriousness of its themes, the play is often very funny.” — Whats On Stage ****

“Anna Ziegler’s understated yet sharply drawn new play Evening All Afternoon….is a tender, perceptive examination of grief, connection and the tentative bridges we build across generations…A deftly written two-hander…What Ziegler captures so astutely is the rhythm of a relationship that refuses to follow a neat arc.  It would have been simple to usher Jennifer and Delilah towards some inevitable reconciliation. Instead their progress is jagged: moments of warmth give way to sudden coolness, small openings to abrupt retreat. Those chinks of light, followed by setbacks, feel truthful and earned, and they give the play a beguiling richness….Combined with Ziegler’s wry humour, the result is a piece that is both engaging and unexpectedly moving.” — Theatre Weekly ****

“Anna Ziegler turns a searching gaze on unresolved loss and the quiet, corrosive ways it can shape a life.  Now simmering at the Donmar Warehouse, this intimate, emotionally intelligent drama unfolds with a steady, penetrating power.” — Theatre and Tonic