Description

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Elma is a singer in a sleazy 1930s Berlin nighclub. Having suffered an appalling assault during the First World War, she has no memory of her former life. A man appears and tells her that she is, in fact, the wife of an Italian aristocrat, and a new life awaits her. But when she goes to Italy to pursue this dream, she is greeted only by problems and disappointments. Pirandello uses this story to explore the mysteries of identity and memory, themes that preoccupied him throughout his life.

Hugh Whitemore's version premiered in London's West End in 2005 in a production starring Kristen Scott Thomas and Bob Hoskins. His other plays include Stevie, Pack of Liars, Breaking the Code and A Letter of Resignation. He has also written many film and TV scripts.

About the Author

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Pirandello's prolific writing career was unusual in that he had already earned a considerable reputation as a poet and prose author before turning to the theatre relatively late in life. The premiere of 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' in 1921 established him internationally as Italy's leading playwright. Hugh Whitemore is an English playwright and screenwriter. He began his writing career in British television with both original teleplays and adaptations of classic works. He twice won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award. His work for American TV includes Concealed Enemies, and The Gathering Storm, which focused on a troubled period in the marriage of Clementine and Winston Churchill just prior to World War II. He won an Emmy Award for each. He also was nominated for his adaptation of the Carl Bernstein/Bob Woodward book about President Nixon, The Final Days. His most recent teleplay was My House in Umbria (2003), an adaptation of the novella by William Trevor starring Maggie Smith. His plays Breaking The Code, A Marvellous Year for Plums and Pack of Lies are published by Oberon Books.