If I really had a free hand I'd wish to broadcast on my hundredth birthday, fly round the world... Oh, I forgot - I have often wanted the moon... Clemence Dane, eminent author, artist, playwright, journalist and Oscar-winning screenwriter, is asked by her great friend Noel Coward to revive her acting career and play the famous role he once created for her: the eccentric medium 'Madame Arcati' in Blithe Spirit. She observes, 'I have enough ghosts around me nowadays without playing someone who makes a living from conjuring them up...' As she prepares to answer him, she reflects on their long personal and professional relationship - as well as memorable episodes from her chequered career, including penning the controversial early 20th century lesbian novel Regiment of Women, her war experiences, and her adventures in Hollywood with Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich... and The Marx Brothers. And, as she ?summons up' these ghosts from her past, she contemplates her own imminent future in the other world: 'Perhaps I'll come back and haunt you all. But I promise not to do it when Madame Arcati is summoning up the spirits.'| 18 Sep 16 to 24 Sep 16 | Bread and Roses Inner London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
