Death of an Actress
'a brilliant new play about love and revenge'
By David Bridel. Winner of a London New Play Festival Award 1998.
Following the success of the world première staged rehearsed reading with live music at Southwark Playhouse in March 2003, we have acquired the rights to produce the play in the UK.
We are actively seeking funding and co-producers to stage a full professional production next year.
The up and coming star of her generation has been having an affair with her producer. She is murdered and her composer husband has been convicted of the murder. In prison he has written an 'ode to her soul', 'Remembrance'. The music has captured the public imagination. It is also working a subtle revenge on the producer.
Each character addresses frankly and directly to the audience. But as each character unfolds their story, we have to revise our idea of the 'truth'. It is a tale of simple love and love that cannot speak its name, confession and concealment, jealousy and revenge both violent and insidious. It is brilliantly and wittily written in rhyming couplets yet the speech is utterly naturalistic.
The music has been specially composed by Roy Bokhour and is played live.
The world première reading was directed by Duncan Law with Tamsin Lewis as musical director. The Producer was played by Jack Klaff, the Actress by Jenny Ogilvie and the Composer by Justin Brett. The musicians were Tamsin Lewis, violin, Myfanwy Walters, viola and Helen Tripp, piano. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Southwark Playhouse for this reading.
'I'm going to tell you everything, but you
Should know in advance some of it's not true'
