Ladies in Retirement
Grange Road
Malvern, Worcestershire WR14
UK
Ladies in Retirement
by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy
Set in the 1880’s and based on an actual murder, the play has been described as one of the best
thrillers written for the stage.
An atmosphere of mystery is evoked in a lonely house on the marshes of the Thames estuary where
Leonora Fiske, a retired ‘actress’ lives with her companion Ellen Creed. A visit from Ellen’s eccentric
sisters tests Leonora’s patience and she asks them to leave, but it is Leonora who subsequently
vanishes. Nephew Albert, with his shadowy past, arrives seeking a refuge thereby adding to the
complexity. Slowly, however he begins to unravel the mystery of the disappearance, and creates a
chilling moonlight scenario to test his theory.
First performed in London in 1939 and in New York in 1940, it was also made into a film in 1941
starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward.
“a creepy tale as icy as the crisp November air” Gloucester Echo
“a kind of thriller, Agatha Christie might have written, Curtain Up
if she wanted to frighten rather than tease her readers”
“an exercise in slowly accumulating terror” New York Times
Mon 13th to Sat 18th October at 7:30pm, also Sat18th Oct at 2:30pm
Tickets £16, £12 over 60 and unwaged, £10 under 18 (prices include 12% booking fee)
Box Office : 01684 892277, or on-line at: www.malvern-theatres.co.uk
