“Ladies in Retirement” by Edward Percy & Reginald Denham – November 2023

Synopsis

Based on a famous 19th century murder, Ladies in Retirement is arguably the finest stage thriller ever written, one which continues to chill and excite audiences.
In a remote house on the marches of the Thames estuary, Leonora Fiske, an ex-actress lives with her companion Ellen Creed. When Ellen's two elderly sisters visit to escape the London blitz, there is little to suggest what lies ahead as the eccentric guests make themselves at home. Leonora's patience wears thin, requesting that they leave, but after a bitter row it is Leonora who vanishes. The arrival of the Creed sister's nephew Albert, on the run from the police, only adds to the mystery and suspense. As Albert gradually pieces together the series of events, he must hope that the eerie moonlit pantomime murder he stages, to trap the murderer, succeeds before he becomes the next victim.

Act One
Scene One           A June morning 1940
Scene Two          An afternoon the following September
Scene Three       Late afternoon, a week later
Scene Four         A Saturday night in mid-November
INTERVAL - 20 minutes
Act Two
Scene One          Sunday morning
Scene Two         The following Wednesday night
Scene Three      Thursday morning