The Poet of Lufatia is the debut play of American writer, actor, and director Zander Gibney. Zander recently graduated from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Master of Fine Arts–Acting program. Now based in Birmingham, Zander is thrilled to be bringing this passion project to Birmingham Fest with a cast of talented, locally based actors.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s comedies and Noël Coward’s style, The Poet of Lufatia is a farce of convoluted communication about the amount people will say to not have to say anything at all.

Legend says the Princess of Lufatia can only be wooed by a man who writes 1,000 letters––the “Poet of Lufatia.” Now that the King has called for this legend to be fulfilled, a self-righteous poet named Michael aims to claim the title of Poet and the princess as his own. Unfortunately, to reach his goal Michael must contend with a naïve courier, a pair of conniving sisters, clothes-swapping twin brothers, his sister’s impending marriage, a mail fraud plot that could bring down the entire kingdom, and––worst of all––rampant miscommunication.

Will anyone be married? Will Lufatia be saved from mail fraud? And will anyone genuinely speak from their heart? Find out in The Poet of Lufatia: A new comedy about old letters.