The Barbican in London was the setting this evening for the World Premiere of Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day, opening the 2026 SXSW London Film Festival in spectacular style. A witty, feminist unromantic comedy adapted from Virginia Woolf’s 1919 novel, the film stars Haley Bennett, Timothy Spall, Jennifer Saunders, Jack Whitehall, Sally Phillips, Lily Allen, Elyas M’Barek, Misia Butler, Alex Macqueen, Simon Phillips and Frances Barber; it was written by Justine Waddell and directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Tina Gharavi.
Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day will be released in cinemas on 19th June 2026.
Colin Hart and Abigail Shii were on the red carpet, here are their interviews.
Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day SXSW London World Premiere Interviews
Plot:
Set in London in 1910, brilliant and headstrong Katharine Hilbery (Haley Bennett) resists her controlling father’s (Timothy Spall) plans to push her into marriage with family friend William (Jack Whitehall), determined instead to pursue her passion for astronomy. Her world expands when she befriends spirited suffragette Mary Datchet (Lily Allen) and crosses paths with working-class editor Ralph Denham (Elyas M’Barek), who is assisting her mother Mrs. Hilbery (Jennifer Saunders) with a family biography. As romantic loyalties shift, Katharine is pushed to question everything she has been taught about love, ambition, and how to claim her space in the world.
