Mrs Pat

(Paperback)

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At the turn of the century, Mrs. Patrick Campbell was Englands most celebrated and notorious actress. An acclaimed beauty, loved by many, she is remembered for her wit, for bad behaviour, and her close friendship with George Bernard Shaw. She was a great actress, when she wanted to be. She had a low boredom threshold and frequently behaved dreadfully on stage. Her work was daring and unpredictable, enhanced by her great beauty. Shaw worshipped her, wrote Pygmalion for her and begged her to play Eliza. Rather than living to work she always worked to live and died in exile and poverty. Pam Gems' play is about the art and craft of acting and the turmoil of being a woman who was meant to please but couldnt resist using her mind. Mrs Pat opened at the York Theatre Royal in March 2006.

Author Bio

Pam Gems' first major success was Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi staged in 1976. Among her other best-known works are Piaf (1978), Camille (1984), The Danton Affair (1986), The Blue Angel (1991), The Snow Palace (1997) and Stanley (1997), based on the life of the painter Stanley Spencer, first produced at the RNT.