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Ladies in Retirement

Ladies in Retirement
Your Price: $18.95 CDN
Author: Edward Percy and Reginald Denham
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service (cover may change)
Format: Softcover
# of Pages: 129
Pub. Date: 1943
Edition: Acting
ISBN-10: 0822206242
ISBN-13: 9780822206248
Cast Size: 6 female, 1 male

About the Play:

Ladies in Retirement is a full-length mystery drama by Edward Percy and Reginald Denham. In this compelling edge-of-the-seat psychological thriller a former actress, Miss Fiske, and her long-time companion and housemate, Ellen, become involved in competing schemes that grow more sinister after the arrival at their home, of Ellen's two sisters. A surprise turn of events will keep your audience glued to the unfolding story that has been described as one of the best thrillers written for the stage.

Ladies in Retirement is a suspense classic that combines the tension of the detective mystery with the terror of a ghost story. Middle-aged Ellen Creed has come down in the world and must work as a housekeeper and companion to Leonora Fiske, a spunky former musical actress getting on in years. The sole support of two dotty older sisters, Louisa and Emily, Ellen invites them to visit her in the large, rattling old country house. These eccentric persons make themselves at home, but when Miss Fiske reminds Ellen it is time for them to go back, they are unwilling to do so. Miss Fiske and Ellen quarrel, and Ellen prepares to send her sisters to London. She has, however, secretly told them that they shall always remain with her. The sisters go for a drive, though Miss Fiske thinks they are leaving for good; the servants have been sent away (by Ellen), and Ellen and Miss Fiske are left alone together. On the return of the sisters Miss Fiske is gone – on a trip, Ellen says – and all three sisters settle down in what they regard as their own home. Meantime, Albert, nephew of the Creed sisters, who had paid a secret visit and got money from Miss Fiske, turns up again. He has robbed a bank and determines to hide with his aunts. Learning that Miss Fiske is away, and suspecting something, he pieces together the evidence. With the help of the maid Lucy, he lays a trap for Ellen, by reproducing in pantomime, in the moonlit living room, the scene of Ellen's murder of Miss Fiske. Ellen, who faints when she sees what she imagines is the ghost of her victim, plays a courageous but losing game. Knowing that Albert and Lucy realize what she has done, she plans for the security of her sisters and gives up to the police. Based on a famous murder in the 19th century, Ladies in Retirement is arguably the finest stage thriller ever written, and one which continues to chill and excite audiences as much today as at the first performance.

Ladies in Retirement was first staged as England was starting WWII, London was in a blackout, and theatres were closed. It premiered in 1939 at one of the few theatres that did stay open, the Richmond Theatre in London, was an enormous hit, ran for 174 performances, and the another 127 when it was able resume in 1941 at the St. James's Theatre. This classic thriller was produced with great success in 1940 at Henry Miller's Theatre on Broadway in New York City, made into a successful film, and has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 6 female, 1 male

What people say:

"A lavishly detailed gem of suspense." — nytheatre.com

"...there is a wealth of theatrical properties from days of yore that deserve revival ... One such gem used to be a staple of theaters from coast to coast. The 1940 drama is called Ladies in Retirement, by British playwrights Edward Percy and Reginald Denham ... This is the sort of play, a mystery, that was a Broadway staple during its Golden Age. It's unpretentious, gentle, full of character and suspense and a bang-up evening." — Los Angeles Times

"The play, while biting and funny, reflects the plight of powerless, impoverished women facing lives of desperation with no social or financial support." — BroadwayWorld.com

"Ladies In Retirement is a cunning and astonishing study in character about the demons that lurk behind the lace curtains of respectability. The question posed by playwrights Edward Percy and Reginald Denham is not the standard one of whodunit? Rather, it's Will She Get Away With It?... A fascinating evening." — The Ottawa Citizen

About the Playwright:

Edward Percy Smith (1891-1968) was a prolific English writer of stage and screen, businessman and a politician in the United Kingdom. He used the name Edward Percy for his stage work, reserving the "Smith" for his activities in the world of politics.

Reginald Denham (1894-1983) was an English actor, playwright, theater and film director, and film producer, who was best known for suspense dramas. He most often worked in collaboration with Edward Percy. The most famous of their plays was Ladies in Retirement, which was filmed twice by Hollywood.