Rossetti’s Stunners
Elaine Britten
17 June 2026
One face looks out from all his canvases — not as she is, but as she fills his dreams.
In Victorian London, Dante Gabriel Rossetti transformed ordinary women into goddesses, calling them “Stunners.” This new play — part theatre, part lecture, part riff beauty, gender and class — steps inside their gilded world.
Inspired by Woodford-born William Morris and his wife Jane Morris, a defining Pre-Raphaelite muse, writer-performer Elaine Britten blends local history with the story of these audacious Victorians. Meticulously researched and laced with humour, it uncovers the women behind the masterpieces.
In Victorian London, Dante Gabriel Rossetti transformed ordinary women into goddesses, calling them “Stunners.” This new play — part theatre, part lecture, part riff beauty, gender and class — steps inside their gilded world.
Inspired by Woodford-born William Morris and his wife Jane Morris, a defining Pre-Raphaelite muse, writer-performer Elaine Britten blends local history with the story of these audacious Victorians. Meticulously researched and laced with humour, it uncovers the women behind the masterpieces.
