In 1979, two teenagers from opposites sides of the world began writing to each other as pen pals. That friendship would see Ute from East Germany and Tania from New Zealand sharing their dreams and aspirations, their joy and grief, and their families and lives for over four decades. She Wrote The Letter brings this real life correspondence to the stage, gently dissecting how friendship fosters strength and hope when we need it most, and the profound impact that such people can have on us.
Playwright Kieran Carroll, presents the information and events covered as letters being read aloud (although this takes a conversational style at times), as monologues to express thoughts and feelings or through more traditional theatre with the two people speaking on the phone or face-to-face encounters. It would not be the easiest of tasks to squeeze forty years of friendship into an 85 minute production but what Carroll includes captures everything the audience requires to understand how deep this relationship runs between Ute and Tania. Most interestingly, Carroll uses historical happenings like the fall of the Berlin Wall and Princess Diana's death, as not only timestamps but also as ways of reminding us how external factors influence these two women and the bond they share.