The Make-Believe: Hannah Murray

In 2017 Hannah Murray was a successful actor whose career had taken her to Hollywood and given her the opportunity to act with A list stars and Oscar-winning directors. But as the daily costs of acting grew, from the degradations of auditions to repeating violent scenes over and over, Hannah found herself searching for something to make her feel better. One day, a reiki healer promises her a new kind of treatment, a kind of magic, and all of a sudden Hannah’s life is changed.

Back in London, she becomes increasingly involved with the organisation behind the magic, an organisation whose charismatic leadership, promises of secret knowledge, and increasingly complex rituals, are seductive, cult-like – and ultimately for Hannah, destructive, as she finds herself on a week-long course from her friends and family - and her sanity falls apart. Detained in hospital, she struggles to understand the difference between what’s real, and what’s imagined. The result is a propulsive, shockingly honest, and extraordinarily intimate portrayal of a mind taken over the edge.

Shocking, intimate and compulsive, The Make-Believe is an ultimately uplifting and inspiring story of empathy, resilience and the power of belief.

The event will be followed by book sales and a signing with the author and host.

Tickets: £12.50

Age Guidance: Adult 18+

Hannah Murray

Hannah Murray worked as an actor for over a decade, starring in E4’s Skins and HBO’s Game of Thrones. She studied English at Cambridge University and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. The Make-Believe is her first book.

Stephanie Bishop

Stephanie Bishop is the best-selling and award-winning author of four novels. Her most recent novel, The Anniversary, was shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and longlisted for both the Stella Prize and the Notabene Prize. Her writing has appeared in the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian, amongst many others. Her work has been translated into six languages and optioned for film. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at UEA.

Banner photo by Sophie Davidson.