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Ladies in Retirement
Ladies in Retirement
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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
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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.
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