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The Dame and the Showgirl

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The Dame and the Showgirl

By: Simon Berry
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Dame Edith Sitwell is on the final leg of a sell-out Recital Tour of America. Eccentric, old, aristocratic and extremely English, she has taken the States by storm. Nevertheless she is annoyed that her sponsors, Life Magazine, are holding her to her contract getting her to write an article interviewing a relatively unknown film actress, about to hit the big time.

Marilyn Monroe.

Life Magazine and Dame Edith know perfectly well that the two are unlikely to hit it off. But somehow these two opposites attract, surprise each other and forge a deep bond. Despite their totally different backgrounds, they lose their minders and find much more in common than either would have guessed. By the end of their allotted hour, they have discovered truths about motherhood and childhood, beauty and ugliness, the price of fame and the masks we hide behind‚ as well as the human truth that we have more in common than things that divide us.

The Dame and the Showgirl have become friends.

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Episodes
  • Ep 1: The Dame and the Showgirl

    Ep 1: The Dame and the Showgirl
    May 5 2021

    Dame Edith Sitwell is on the final leg of a sell-out Recital Tour of America. Eccentric, old, aristocratic and extremely English, she has taken the States by storm. Nevertheless she is annoyed that her sponsors, Life Magazine, are holding her to her contract getting her to write an article interviewing a relatively unknown film actress, about to hit the big time.

    Marilyn Monroe.

    Life Magazine and Dame Edith know perfectly well that the two are unlikely to hit it off. But somehow these two opposites attract, surprise each other and forge a deep bond. Despite their totally different backgrounds, they lose their minders and find much more in common than either would have guessed. By the end of their allotted hour, they have discovered truths about motherhood and childhood, beauty and ugliness, the price of fame and the masks we hide behind – as well as the human truth that we have more in common than things that divide us.

    The Dame and the Showgirl have become friends.
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    56 mins
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I enjoyed this very much. I was only a little frustrated that it's made to sound as if the famous movie sketch "The vessel with the pestle (etc)" comes form the Bing Crosby movie 'A Connecticut Yankee (In King Arthur's Court)', whereas it actually comes (famously) from the Danny Kaye movie 'The Court Jester'.
But the acting is terrific, and the pairing of Sitwell and Monroe a delightful surprise!

Fascinating and fun - one niggle ;-)

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I loved every minute of this beautifully written and very entertaining play. Huge congratulations and thanks to Simon Berry for writing such a gem and to the great cast. I could not recommend The Dame and the Showgirl more highly.

A wonderful play!

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I have listened to this repeatedly. The new friendship between Dame Edith and Norma Jean unfurls beautifully.

Loved it

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In a world filled with intolerance and division, this gentle, witty story of two very different women forging an unlikely friendship is nourishing beyond words. Simon Berry's story is simultaneously nostalgic and modern (if that's possible) and one can't help warming to the two characters, whose reputations have both been battered considerably in other renditions.
The performances were beautiful too. A shred of Wooster but nothing like sufficient to make it cheesy. A chasm of emotional liberation and stuck-up-ness that is explored and closed. In short, delightful. Please listen to it. I guarantee you will find a precious hour of nothing but joy.

Refreshes the parts that I had forgotten

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An exceptionally well written and delightful play written about a real meeting between the two ladies, about which I think there is no information or records.

Charming poignant and funny

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