The Times
“It is an entertaining show and
a pleasingly assured solo turn”
Monday 10th September, 2001
In Marcy Lafferty’s Vivien Leigh: The Last Press
Conference, at the Jermyn Street Theatre, Lafferty plays the ailing
actress reminiscing about her past in 1960. The play chronicles the
triumphs and tragedies of Leigh’s tumultuous life, from her orchestrated
rise to stardom and stormy relationship with Laurence Olivier to her
tumble into manic depression, wanton excess and indiscreet liaisons.
Lafferty, who ranges from coquettish young star to broken-hearted wreck,
covers the ground with a breathy, sometimes arch manner. But it is an
entertaining show featuring gossipy details (Brando’s “I just throw a gob
of spit in the air and run under it” approach to personal hygiene while
shooting A Streetcar Named Desire) and a pleasingly assured solo turn.
[back]
