Park Theatre London Reviews 2024

THE TIMES
UK THEATRE WEB
FRINGE REVIEW
DAILY EXPRESS
ARTS DESK
ARTS DISPATCH
WEST END BEST FRIEND
THEATRE & TONIC
BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL
A YOUNG-ISH PERSPECTIVE
ALL THAT DAZZLES
ISLINGTON TRIBUNE
FAIRY POWERED PRODUCTIONS
NORTH WEST END
THE SPY IN THE STALLS
LONDONTHEATRE1
JEWISH CHRONICLE
THE STAGE
ARTSCAPE
THE GUARDIAN
THE TELEGRAPH
OPERATION LIVE THEATRE

THE TIMES
(Rachel Halliburton 26/06/24)
It was perhaps inevitable that when Marilyn Monroe died there would be conspiracy theories – her nuclear-bomb level sex appeal ensured that there would be as many fantasies about her in death as they were in life. Today most people assume that she committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates, but this adroitly constructed thriller looks at evidence that suggest – as too many have discovered – that sex and US presidents are rarely a wise combination.
Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson's script revolves around the fact that the seven people who partied with Monroe the Wednesday before she died were the same seven who gathered at her home on the Saturday after she was discovered unconscious.
On a slowly revolving set, the action switches between celebration after Monroe's renegotiation of her contract for a film, and the sombre hours after her death in which her friends work out what they should tell the world.
No matter what the script's merits, any actress playing Monroe should be able to convey the white heat of her allure and Genevieve Gaunt is more than a convincing incarnation. She vividly communicates Monroe's volatility as she shifts between narcissistic triumph, wildcat fury, babydoll vulnerability, snd whimsical charm – simultaneously victim and master of her emotions.
McKellar has been fascinated with Monroe since she was a teenager and Matt Smith's 'The Men Who Murdered Marilyn' as the spark that lit her obsession with conspiracies surrounding her death. Masterson in turn was inspired by using the structure of 12 Angry Men - which he's directed - as a rigorous and entertaining way of deconstructing an accepted account.
The result is as credible as it's compelling.
Susie Amy is superb as Monroe's best friend, Pat Newcomb, switching from conspiratorial flirtatiousness when she is gossiping with Monroe to flinty dignity after her death. Declan Bennett also excels as Peter Lawford, slimy and dangerous as an electric eel, clearly in the pay of Bobby Kennedy and JFK as he browbeats everyone to toe the line even as Monroe's corpse lies in the next room.
Masterson, who also directs, ensures that there's nothing lurid or salacious here; the forensic analysis is interspersed with fascinating insights into the chemistry of Monroe's very different friendships. Not least with Sally Mortimer's stern, conflicted Eunice Murray whose ambiguous silences imply that for every mystery that's been revealed there are still more lurking in the shadows.
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review

UK THEATRE WEB
(Robert Iles - 28/06/24)
The life, and particularly the death, of Marilyn Monroe has always fascinated the public. Although reported as a suicide, I'm not sure I've ever talked to anyone about it who did not believe that it was 'more complicated than that' - from mis-reported accidental death to wild murder conspiracy theories.
Whilst we will never know the truth of what happened unwitnessed behind closed doors, we are not entirely without facts. The question is, can we construct a story that makes sense of what we can't know from what we do know. The answer is yes, we can, and this play does. Played in the round this is cleverly staged to ensure that everyone gets a good view with a revolve that also, subtly, helps keep track of the timeline. In fact it is the timeline that is being reconstructed for us here to offer us an insight into that terrible day.
Set in period by the music, the underlying soundtrack and costuming this is a beautifully crafted piece. It could have descended into a lecture given the amount of information that has to be passed on but just as you think its going to get too wordy we switch between the present and the past and get pulled back into the characters. Actually, it is the feeling of being reeled in to this world that caught me; the close stage, tight direction, credible characterisation (difficult for a character we know so well from her films) and mounting tension really grabs your attention.
The political context of the events of that night, which really dictated the outcome, might not all be as familiar to a younger audience as they are to those who lived through the times, but they are crucial to understanding the conspiracy. I don't know if more should be said in the play about this, or it should be said earlier, probably we should just trust to the intelligence of the audience as is done here. A film star affair with the President and Attorney General, a pregnancy, whispered state secrets and a potentially damaging diary would have been a very dangerous "pebble" to throw into the turbulent world pond that existed at the time - the ripples might well have released tsunamis!
A tribute to the play, and to this production, is that level of conversation that followed with my fellow audience members and the fact that I dipped back into the original LA Times Obituary (QR codes in the foyer!) as part of re-acquainting myself with the state of the world and the USA at the time. The research in the writing, care taken in direction and the great acting team made for a night I shall ponder for a long time.
https://www.uktw.co.uk/news/The-Marilyn-Conspiracy-review/7075.html

WEST END BEST FRIEND
(Frances Tate 28/06/24)
The history and confusion surrounding Marilyn Monroe, the iconic figure of Hollywood’s Golden Age, who met her tragic end under mysterious circumstances is a well-known mystery. This compelling play delves deep into the five crucial hours between Marilyn’s death and the reporting of her apparent suicide and what may have happened, peeling back layers of intrigue and emotion to reveal the untold truths and turmoil surrounding her final moments. Set within the confines of a small theatre, the intimate space heightens the drama as Marilyn’s closest confidants gather to grapple with grief and uncertainty.
The production sets a sombre tone befitting its subject matter, delving into Marilyn Monroe’s final hours with a blend of suspense and emotional depth. Genevieve Gaunt's portrayal of Marilyn Monroe is haunting and nuanced, capturing both the vulnerability and resilience of the legendary star. Alongside her, Susie Amy as Pat Newcomb and Declan Bennett as Peter Lawford bring depth to their roles, navigating the emotional turmoil and conflicting accounts surrounding Marilyn’s death.
A special mention must be made for Natasha Colenso, who stepped into her role as Patricia Kennedy-Lawford at the last minute due to cast illness. Despite minimal rehearsal time, Colenso delivers an emotionally resonant performance, adding depth to the ensemble.
Directed with precision by Guy Masterson, the play effectively uses the small playing space to create an intimate and immersive experience. Set in the round with a revolving centre, the design utilises the space extensively, creating an immersive experience and allows the entire audience to see all characters throughout the heated scenes. Although this setup is different and interesting for the expectation of a tiny venue, it doesn’t significantly enhance the performance and would work as well in a traditional setting. The basic yet functional set design is perfect for the small venue, though it raises curiosity about how it could adapt to a larger space.
Throughout the performance, the narrative unfolds through a non-linear structure, shifting between pivotal moments in Marilyn’s life and the critical hours leading up to her demise. This approach adds depth to the exploration of Marilyn Monroe’s legacy but requires attentive viewing to follow the timeline seamlessly.
The play navigates the tense discussions and emotional confrontations between Marilyn’s inner circle, portraying the raw emotions and speculative conversations that followed her death. This poignant exploration of fame, relationships, and the darker side of Hollywood leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
A haunting portrayal of what may have occurred in Marilyn Monroe’s untold final hours – a must-see for fans of Hollywood history and mysteries.
https://www.westendbestfriend.co.uk/news/review-the-marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre

THE ARTS DESK
(Alex Sierz 01/07/24)
The death of Marilyn Monroe is a wet dream for conspiracy theorists. Like the assassination of JFK in the following year there is plenty of material in the official accounts that doesn’t quite make sense – which opens the door to free-form speculation.
Intrigued by the numerous theories about Monroe’s demise, actress Vicki McKellar and Olivier Award-winning West End and Broadway director Guy Masterson have teemed up to create The Marilyn Conspiracy, which was first staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 2018 and now comes to the Park Theatre in north London. The result is a cogent thriller which explores the mysterious circumstances of the blonde celebrity’s death on 4 August 1962 aged 36.
Blending fact and fiction (it is a play after all), the drama focuses on one room and one night: Monroe’s living room in her Brentwood, LA, bungalow, in the hours after her death. Seven people have gathered: her body has been found by her housekeeper Eunice, who phones for her doctor Engelberg and her psychiatrist Greenson who comes with his wife Hildi – as well as Marilyn’s close friend and publicist Pat Newcomb. Then there is the Kennedy connection: crucial to the plot are actor Peter Lawford, and his wife Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, sister to the president JFK and his brother, the attorney general Bobby Kennedy.
While the official verdict on Marilyn’s death was “probably suicide”, the actual circumstances of the death are mysterious. For a start, although she died at about 11.40pm, the police were not called until 4.20, some five hours later. Why? There might have been an innocent explanation: she was a huge celebrity and there were many people who would have had to have been told about her sudden death, from studio bosses like Darryl F Zanuck to the Kennedy Brothers, who had both been her lovers. Maybe even the CIA. Or, if you prefer, there’s a less innocent explanation.
Based on Donald H Wolfe’s classic book, The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe, McKellar and Masterson’s play explores the possibility of a murder and its cover up. They show how the two medical men — Engelberg and Greenson — cast doubt on the likelihood that the star died from an overdose, and her friend Pat is adamant that she wasn’t depressed or suicidal. The motive for her murder? Easy, she kept a diary in which she detailed her relationship with the Kennedy brothers, and threatened to make this public. So, in the jargon of mafia movies, they bumped her off.
In the play, which takes the form of an Agatha Christie murder mystery, the Kennedy clan is represented by Lawford and his wife Patricia. He is keen to find Marilyn’s diary and stop any loose talk about murder, while she defends her brothers, even as she knows about their womanising. But, in a genre-bending twist, this murder mystery is not really about exposing the killer, but rather about showing how a cover up is put together, how inconvenient people can be disposed of, and inconvenient facts suppressed. The play is an anatomy of a lie.
As such it has a compelling quality which makes the proceedings fascinating to watch. McKellar and Masterson use flashbacks to show aspects of Marilyn’s relationships with the other characters, and this works especially well as regards her best friend Pat: their opinion of powerful men has a nicely satirical slant, and Marilyn’s belated discovery of the orgasm, the big O, is a reminder of women’s sexual misery in the years before the advent of feminism. Male power over women is a central theme. Marilyn’s celebrity status is underlined, and in one party scene she is shown performing the role of a celebrity personality, always acting a part, only in private is she truly herself.
And, as the playwrights stress, the real Marilyn was a complex person, sometimes childish, sometimes serious, sometimes affectionate, sometimes raunchy, sometimes unstable, often drunk, often unable to sleep without pills. She can also be paranoid about her bungalow being bugged, and likewise paranoid about disappointments in love. In this version she is genuinely enamoured of Bobby Kennedy, so his rejection of her and decision to stick with his wife Ethel and his kids is particularly hurtful. Her determination to keep her diary private and not give it to the Kennedy clan also comes across strongly.
McKellar and Masterson also emphasise the political context for the idea that Marilyn was assassinated: in the depths of the Cold War, with the Soviet Union’s Nikita Khrushchev competing with the USA for world domination, JFK’s failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 has weakened the Americans. With the mafia and organised crime opposed to Bobby Kennedy’s judicial attempts to control them, the Kennedys have lot on their plate: do they need a celebrity bombshell defying their wishes? So does this mean that it’s just too tempting to silence this inconvenient female?
In fact, The Marilyn Conspiracy is less about Marilyn than about conspiracy. Although the play shows her as troubled and vulnerable, it is more interested in the mechanics of a cover up, especially the way that power — in the shape of Lawford and his Kennedy wife — exerts itself over individuals. It’s a piece full of arguments, and suggestions, rebuttals and refutations. Although it can get a bit repetitive, there’s a real coherence about the way that medical ethics are twisted in the case of two doctors, and the way that the good nature of two of the women — Pat and Hildi — is ground down beneath the wheels of realpolitik.
Masterson himself directs the debate, on Sarah June Mills’s nicely retro set, and is well served by the cast: Genevieve Gaunt is a breathily charismatic Marilyn, whether quaffing champagne in inadvisable quantities or cuddling her soft toy. She also sings sweetly. As her bestie Pat, Susie Amy exudes empathy and warmth. By contrast, Declan Bennett as Lawford is consistently both charming and menacing, and each of the other actors get their own set pieces: Natasha Colenso (Patricia), Angela Bull (Hildi), Sally Mortemore (Eunice), David Calvitto (Greenson) and Maurey Richards (Engelberg). You don’t have to be a conspiracy buff to enjoy this show.
https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre-review-intriguing-murder-mystery

THE ARTS DISPATCH
(Katie Shaw 01/07/24)
RIP Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, you would have loved iPads (If you know, you know - In all seriousness, props to Natasha Colenso who stepped up last minute into the role of Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, and the entire cast who blew me away with their stellar performances of Marilyn Monroe and seven of her inner circle.) Set in an unspecified room in Marilyn’s house, a light brown chaise lounge, two wicker chairs draped in blankets, a record player, a table stacked with books and a LIFE magazine- though I couldn’t quite make out who graced the cover – and a retro, white wired telephone stood to symbolise the private glamour of Monroe era 1960s.
Genevieve Gaunt shines as Marilyn Monroe, an icon of the Golden Hollywood age, who tragically lost her life in 1962, aged 36. The circumstances of her death have forever stumped historians, popular culture fanatics, and Monroe’s closest circle alike. Mass speculation over the circumstances of the actress’ death has circulated for decades. Did the star simply overdose? Was there foul play involved? Did one of the Kennedy brothers murder her? Or did the CIA play a role in her death? Enter: The Marilyn Conspiracy. Written by Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson, this brilliantly engaging play dramatises the final days and hours of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Each scene transitions between the hours leading up to her death, and the five crucial hours after her death, where seven of her friends try to piece together the timeline and events of what happened. 
With Gaunt playing the titular role, the cast also stars Susie Amy as Pat Newcomb, Monroe’s publicist, Sally Mortemore as Eunice Murray, Marilyn’s housemaid, Declan Bennett as Peter Lawford and his wife Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, played by Colenso, sister to Bobby and John F. Kennedy;  Maurey Richards as Dr Hyman Engelberg, Monroe’s physician, and David Calvitto as Dr Ralph Greenson, Monroe’s psychiatrist, with Angela Bull portraying his wife, Hildi. Despite a couple of the actors not quite coming in on cue at various stages, ultimately the cast gave a convincing and emotive performance in exploring one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries. 
The dynamic of the seven friends reminded me of a classic Agatha Christie plot, blended with 12 Angry Men. Meeting in Marilyn’s home, with grief and tensions running high, nobody could quite agree on what to tell the police about the circumstances of Marilyn’s death and, at one point, fingers were pointed amongst the friends as to who might have played a role in their dear friends’ death. This made for a captivating and engaging play, interspersed with cryptic undertones which I find to be perfectly symbolic of the enigma surrounding Monroe’s life and death.
Aside from Gaunt’s beautifully sincere and honest performance as our heroine, what stole the show for me was the hostile dynamic between Peter Lawford and Pat Newcomb. Exceptionally portrayed by Declan Bennett and Susie Amy, the tension in their exchanges was captivating, compelling, and breathtaking all at once. I truly felt as though I was witnessing an emotionally charged conversation – or disagreement – between two grieving friends.  
The Marilyn Conspiracy serves as a stark reminder of the influence that masculine power and politics played in Monroe’s life. Most of the group concede that Bobby Kennedy couldn’t possibly be to blame despite significant evidence to the contrary, for fear of tainting the Kennedy name and their political reputation, and risking impeachment for President Kennedy. It is Marilyn’s diary that stands at the forefront of the mystery of the play and of this reputational tarnishing, and the back and forth bickering over the ownership of the diary only fuels this mystery. What could Marilyn possibly have on Bobby Kennedy? It is Peter Lawford who acts as ringleader to this narrative, clashing with Pat Newcomb who seems to be the only one of the seven friends who stands and fights for integrity whilst unravelling the circumstances of her dear friend’s death. Sadly, it seems that even Monroe’s death must be scrutinised and ultimately decided for her by the men in her life.
As the lights fell for the final time at the Park Theatre, Gaunt sang an eerie tune in a classic Monroe manner which was the perfect outro for a perfectly eerie and tense play. The audience, myself included, erupted in whoops and cheers for this exceptional play. A must-see – especially if you’re fascinated by Marilyn Monroe, conspiracy theories or a classic case of whodunnit!
https://www.theartsdispatch.com/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review-park-theatre-london/

THEATRE & TONIC
(Bronagh 28/06/24)
Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most famous women in the world, over sixty years after her death. Memorabilia adorned with her image are still sold worldwide, the American bombshell who met a tragic end. Although officially recorded as a ‘probable suicide’, Marilyn’s death has been the subject of many conspiracy theories which is what piqued the interest of co-writer Vicki McKellar. The Marilyn Conspiracy follows seven of Marilyn’s closest confidantes in the following hours after Marilyn’s death, as they try to piece together the circumstances and come up with a believable story while protecting themselves and others.
Upon arriving at the Park Theatre, I was informed that there had been a very last minute cast change due to cast illness. Natasha Colenso was now playing Patricia Kennedy-Lawford. Due to the last minute change, Colenso would have her script in hand. By Act 2 she had settled into the role and appeared a lot less nervous. She played a brilliant part, and I really enjoyed her performance. I can definitely picture her becoming more and more confident as the run continues, and a well done to her for stepping in so last minute.
We walk into the theatre, where we are greeted by Sarah June Mills’ set. The set looks like an ordinary 1960s living room with a record player in sight, Life magazine on the coffee table and, of course, a champagne bucket. This is where we first meet Marilyn (Genevieve Gaunt), wrapped up in a white robe and twirling a telephone wire with her fingers, complete with the famous blonde hairdo and winged eyeliner. The stage revolves for the most of the show, with characters exiting at four different corners and Tom Turner’s lighting signifying scene changes. I liked the set and the lighting choices, they set the scene perfectly taking us back to 1962.
As somebody with limited knowledge of Marilyn Monroe and her death, unlike McKellar who has done her research! The entire show is well executed and well thought through, with the years of research apparent. McKellar and her co-writer Guy Masterson have respected Marilyn throughout and created a show worth watching. The entire cast embodies their characters, showing the raw emotion and panic surrounding the death of their friend, who they all know to be extremely vulnerable. The characters of Peter Lawford (Declan Bennett) and Patricia Kennedy-Lawford were standout ‘shady’ characters, with a wobbly relationship with Marilyn and wanting to protect the Kennedy brothers from scrutiny. 
Although the primary topic of The Marilyn Conspiracy is about Marilyn’s death and the murky circumstances, I also really enjoyed those little looks into her life. A particular favourite of mine was scenes with her friend Pat Newcomb (Susie Amy), where they were seen having giggly conversations about anyone and anything – from ‘the big O’ with Marlene Dietrich, to Joe DiMaggio, back to drinking Dom Perignon and discussing therapy sessions. I really enjoyed these little snippets. Gaunt’s performance as Marilyn was stunning to watch. She really embodies the little giggles, the way she spoke and presented herself as well as showing the more fragile and lonely side of Marilyn.
The Marilyn Conspiracy is long, at approximately two and a half hours (including an interval). I did feel like some parts dragged and I found myself having to regain focus. Saying that, I can’t think of any parts which could be cut out. There were a few points I noticed members of the cast stumble on words, however, this is a teething problem and is sure to improve in time – it is in its early days after all.
The Marilyn Conspiracy is a thrilling addition to the Park Theatre’s programme, which is certain to leave you wondering what actually happened on the evening of Marilyn Monroe’s death. Not one to miss!
https://theatreandtonic.co.uk/blog/the-marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre-review

BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL
(Michael Davis 01/07/24)
Much like the ‘grassy knoll’ that’s associated with JFK, all the ‘facts’ that surround Marilyn Monroe’s final hours on Earth are a neverending source of interest and perplexion. Written by Vicky McKellar and Guy Masterson, The Marilyn Conspiracy examines what was officially announced at the wake of Monroe’s death by the group of acquaintances and friends who were present in the immediate hours before and after her passing.
While the ‘aftermath’ is covered at great length, we’re also privy to scenes with Monroe prior to this that involve the aforementioned ‘party guests’. They include Genevieve Gaunt as Marilyn Monroe; Sally Mortemore as Mrs Eunice Murray, Monroe’s housekeeper; David Calvitto as Dr Ralph Greenson, Monroe’s psychiatrist; Angela Bull as Mrs Hildi Greenson, the wife of Monroe’s psychiatrist; Susie Amy as Pat Newcomb, Monroe’s best friend and publicist; Maurey Richards as Hyman Engelberg, Monroe’s doctor; Declan Bennett as Peter Lawford, actor and the last person to speak to Monroe, plus Natasha Colenso as Mrs Patricia Kennedy-Lawford – wife of Peter, but more importantly sister of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy…
Tonally, some of the early scenes feel like a whodunnnit, but as we see how the dramatis personae ‘know’ Munroe, I did wonder if there would be an unveiling of personal connections such as in An Inspector Calls. By the time the play hits its stride, however, I had no doubt as to the nature of the play – a reversal of 12 Angry Men, where instead of one good man ‘wearing down’ biased opinions through logic and empathy, we have one person using ‘rationality’ to encourage others to forget their better angels and sell their souls…
Months earlier, Lawford was ostracised by Frank Sinatra for not speaking on his behalf to the Kennedys, who at the last minute refused to stay at Sinatra’s Palm Spring abode, because of his publicised link to the Mafia. At the time we meet Lawford in the play, he is very much in the counsel of the Kennedys and acts as their liasion regarding a candid diary in Monroe’s custody… While not an important person per se, Lawford’s connections make him a pivotal figure in the play and the U.S. at that time. None of this backstory is mentioned in the play, but one senses just from his actions in the play that he has an agenda.
While Engelberg and Greenson use scientific know-how to rebuff what couldn’t be stated in a cover story, they eventually acquiesce to Lawford’s request for ‘facts’, after a fashion. The women in the play, however, echo Monroe’s own sentiment of letting ‘the truth out’ and damn the consequences. The larger picture in the play, however, involving ‘national security’ becomes the ‘get out of jail card’ for the powers-that-be, echoing Samuel Johnson’s statement that: “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” In any case, the audience is left to ponder on where the ‘greater good’ truly lies.
Had this play been performed say 40+ years ago, it would have hit differently. However, what with political scandals on both sides of the Pond in recent years, the justification of silence to ‘safe face’ smacks of cowardice and would face little tolerance nowadays. Also, knowing what would later happen in 1963 and 1968, the worst fears expounded by Lawford came to pass anyway and were perhaps karmic in nature.
Like most people, I knew the gist of Monroe’s alleged final hours before watching the play. I was also aware of the conspiracy theories espoused at that time. This play gets under the skin of all these rumours and makes you care about the oppression of truth and the disregard for individuals.
If Monroe had a ‘fault’, it was her lack of comprehension of what ‘frightened’, powerful people would do to protect themselves and how vulnerable she truly was…
https://breaking-the-fourth-wall.com/2024/07/01/the-marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre-review/

THE SPY IN THE STALLS
(Jonathan Evans 24/07/24)
Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson’s “The Marilyn Conspiracy” is an intricately structured new drama, that undulates chronologically. Like a pendulum, swinging between the ‘before’ and ‘after’; in the centre of which lies the tragic and untimely death of Marilyn Monroe. The play hangs above the events like the sword of Damocles, waiting to fall and slice through the rumours, the scandal and conspiracy theories to get to the truth. Although when it does drop, the penetration is only skin deep. The writing and the performances are incisive, but the writers prefer to leave the outer layers unscathed. We are never entirely sure whether to trust their version of events or to draw our own conclusions.
Sixty years on from her death, the jury is still out. Officially ruled as probable suicide, no evidence of foul play was found. Despite the coroner’s findings, several conspiracy theories have been proposed. The case was reviewed in 1982 but the original findings were upheld. Masterson, who also directs, lays on the evidence of foul play thick and fast, presenting us with a very filmic piece of theatre that grips throughout – enhanced by Jack Arnold’s moody and atmospheric compositions. Film Noir meets Columbo, with touches of Raymond Chandler and Agatha Christie. ‘Who Killed Monroe’ could be a suitable subtitle as motive and opportunity are relayed around the room like a tense game of ‘pass the parcel’. Threats said in the heat of the moment are later forensically picked apart and used as, not just evidence, but proof. As details leak, suspicions grow, and fingers point. Lies are uncovered, but then covered up before you can say ‘Happy Birthday’ to a president.
Monroe is such an icon that has unfortunately become a caricature in the public’s memory. However, Genevieve Gaunt captures the mannerisms and the breathy vocals without resorting to cliché. We get a real feel of her playfulness as well as her histrionics and instability. To a lesser extent we glimpse the savvy side of Monroe’s character, the emphasis being on the trivial gossip. Which is a delight. Giggling and spicy conversations with her close friend Pat Newcomb (Susie Amy – in wonderful form as loyal defender, supporter and confidant) provide comic relief from the dark revelations revealed posthumously.
McKellar has clearly done her research. The source material is wide, yet she focuses on quite a narrow part of the picture, leading Robert and John Kennedy centre stage without actually bringing either of them onto the stage. Instead, we have their sister Patricia and her husband Peter Lawford as a kind of good-cop-bad-cop duo. Declan Bennett’s Peter is the closest we have to the villain of the piece: his brothers’ lackey sent to staunch a leak that could topple the administration. Having failed, more drastic measures are needed – and therein lies the crux of the narrative. The stakes are high, and the skilled performances raise them higher still as the cast navigate the sharp and penetrating narrative structure. A special mention must be made of last-minute replacement, Natasha Colenso, as Patricia Kennedy-Lawford. A pre-show announcement explained that she would be on the book, but you had to look very hard indeed to notice.
Everybody thinks they know everything about Marilyn Monroe, and consequently has their own theory about her demise. This show sheds little light on the heroine herself, but it does authentically portray the dubious afterglow of her departure. Very much character lead, it is above all a beguiling study in political coercion and one’s willingness to bow down to it. Sally Mortemore’s nuanced depiction of Monroe’s housemaid, Eunice Murray, is a prime and realistically disturbing example of this dichotomy.
We may not be presented with undisputed fact, but we feel that we are dangerously close to it. McKellar takes us behind closed doors and shows us the intricate mechanisms of the quintessential ’cover up’. When the pieces come together, whether true or not, what we have is ‘history’. It’s a daunting concept. “The Marilyn Conspiracy” perhaps treats this concept with a bit too much bias and preconception. But the mix of polemic and entertainment value is perfectly balanced. A thrilling piece of theatre.
https://thespyinthestalls.com/2024/06/the-marilyn-conspiracy/

ALL THAT DAZZLES
(Sam Waite 28/06/24)
Fade in on a girl with a hunger for fame, and a face and a name remembered in intense detail to this day, decades after she was found dead in her Brentwood, Los Angeles home. America’s smart dumb blonde was a phenomenon in human form, attracting adoration from millions with a carefully constructed persona, valued to this very day more for her beauty than her abilities as an actress, but known to be an intelligent, perhaps dangerously self-aware woman. When Marilyn Monroe passed away, this was eventually deemed a probable suicide, but theories around foul play and accidental overdose have persisted ever since, many of which form the basis of The Marilyn Conspiracy, a historical thriller now playing at London’s Park Theatre.
We meet Marilyn on the night of her death, trying in vain to make plans and insisting, clearly falsely, that she’s fine when asked by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray. Ms Monroe, clad in her negligée and bathrobe, answers the door offstage to an unknown visitor, before the first of many cuts to black, and re-enters in a form-fitting white dress along with several of her nearest and dearest. Days before her tragic end, her years of 20th century fox-trotting seem to have finally paid off, with Daryl Zanuck signing a $1million deal for her next two pictures – for context, that’s closer to $10.5million in 2024 – despite her protestations that Liz Taylor got as much for one film. Still, the champagne flows until an argument between Marilyn and Peter, brother-in-law of flames Jack and Bobby Kennedy, brings things to a close – Bobby wants to know what Marilyn has written in her diary, and she is unwilling to let anyone see this last place her thoughts can be private.
Of course, much of the plot takes place on the night she died – the group debate what they believe to have happened, and Peter refuses to allow the police to be called until a story guarded them, and the Kennedys, from suspicion can be devised. Co-written by Vicki McKellar and director Guy Masterson, The Marilyn Conspiracy presents an interesting blend of documented fact and speculative fiction, with any new revelations created for the play having roots or explanations in the reality documented. Their characterisation of Marilyn feels authentic and true not to the movie star, but to the troubled individual discussed in more intimate accounts – positioned as a dumb blonde by Fox’s directors and screenwriters, those who knew her remembered a sharp, intelligent young woman. A moment of wit comes in a conversation between Monroe and her dear friend (and press agent) Pat Newcombe, where she bemoans the casting-couch culture that plagues the industry – “Oh! Maybe for a Shakespeare! Alas, poor Zauck, I knew him, fellatio.” Their duo’s writing is strong throughout, but at times its hard not to wonder if the whole thing might be better disconnected from Marilyn, as it often feels that the flashbacks with her are a compelling biography of their own, while the otherwise engaging thriller of the present-day (well, August 1962) scenes can feel disconnected from their supposed subject.
The cast are as adept as the writing, bringing a lived-in quality to the roles that allows them to skip over expositional introductions, allowing the playwrights to smartly drip-feed those of us unfamiliar with the group the information we need to understand their dynamics. Natasha Colenso, her face impassive but the cogs clearly turning in her head, plays the role of Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, stepping in on the productions original press night script-in-hand when illness threatened a cancellation. Only a handful of performances later, it’s difficult to believe that Colenso was on-book just this week, her command of the role is so strong and her stumbles so minimal – I personally caught just one fumble, but the quickfire, complex dialogue ensured that she certainly wasn’t alone in that regard. As her husband, actor and Kennedy-sycophant Peter Lawford, Declan Bennett delivers a solid combination of cool control and easily-set-off rage, a man determined to believe he’s in charge while pandering to whoever has the most power at any given moment.
Indeed, the whole cast carry themselves well. Particular kudos must be given to Sally Mortemore as Eunice Murray, giving the character a motherly quality and a heartbreaking frailty after her employer’s demise, and to Susie Amy, who is witty and dazzling as friend and confidante Pat Newcomb, and vividly enraged when appearances become more important than doing right by the woman she’d built such a bond with. But as in reality, it’s Marilyn herself who routinely pulled focus, who had a quality that was so captivating yet so hard to explain. Genevieve Gaunt isn’t doing Marilyn Monroe, and her voice and mannerisms share quirks rather than truly resembling the icon, but when on stage she truly is living as her. The Shakespeare line, part of a delightful scene between Monroe and Newcomb where the former spills on her sapphic trysts with Crawford (that actually happened) and her first “big O” courtesy of Dietrich (that not so much, though there are theories), gives Gaunt ample opportunities to display her skills in drawing in an audience and immediate having them onside. Running the gamut of emotions, her performance is nothing short of exemplary, including a poignant moment of song in the second act, where her vocal impression proves to be chillingly lifelike when singing.
The scenes directly centred on Ms Monroe are also the best justification for Sarah June Mills’ continually-moving set. With the space arranged in the round, the living rom where every scene takes place constantly rotates, as if to remind us that this was a woman watched at all times, and from all sides. Indeed, when the script makes repeated references to her home being bugged, it’s hard not to draw a connection to how clearly we’ve been able to see every inch of this room and its inhabitants. Mills’ costumes also help to ground us in the period, with Monroe’s form-fitting dresses thoroughly modest by today’s standards but their sensuality clear for the time, while the living room is littered with evidence of the period and of the woman – plush couch, mid-game chess set, rotary phone, and a half-used bottled of Chanel #5, which she once claimed was all she wore to bed.
Masterson keeps everyone in clear view – many of them, after all, are suspects in this fictionalised version of events where murder is heavily hinted to have taken place. Every performance has been guided to a high level of visible discomfort, them all on edge while debating the night’s events, and their flightiness and preparedness to storm off in dismay clear. From the moment the first of several real-life audio clips plays – the now-haunting introduction of the “late”, meaning tardy at the time, Marilyn Monroe, and a brief snipper of her infamous birthday song – Masterson imbeds us in the mystery of Monroe, and his cast keep us thoroughly engrossed in that world.
While it can sometimes seem like two one-act plays melded into one – a glittering bio-play and a terse political thriller – both are such strong pieces of work that seeing them both is more than welcome, and they do blend together very nicely. Leaning into truths about Marilyn – her diarist tendencies, including her little-known memoir, her propensity for mood swings and her fragile sense of self – and into the countless theories formed after her death – the Kennedys plotting a murder, the CIA and mafia keeping tabs on her – McKellar and Masterson have shaped something truly enticing, and like her character, Genevieve Gaunt’s performance ensures that all eyes and hearts are firmly on her.
https://www.allthatdazzles.co.uk/post/review-the-marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre

A YOUNG-ISH PERSPECTIVE
(Ben Breen - 28/06/24)
A Simmering, cinematic speculation asking what really happened the night Marilyn Monroe died.
Sometime between 8:30 and 10:30pm on 24th August 1962, Marilyn Monroe – the most photographed person of the 20th century – died aged 36 of barbiturate poisoning. This was ruled a “probable suicide”. That night, the people closest to Monroe gather in her sitting room to unpick what happened, decide how to break the news to the public, and discuss the story they want to tell. The Marilyn Conspiracy imagines this conversation, building a compelling, cinematic narrative that blurs the line between true-crime and compelling drama.
Interspersing this emotional discussion with reconstructions of Monroe’s last few days, the audience get to know Marilyn as more than just the recently-deceased. Genevieve Gaunt shines as Monroe, one minute petulant and fragile at a celebrity party, and the next witty and high-maintenance in a private chat with an old friend. Her breathy delivery embodies Monroe’s other-worldly quality, capturing the pressures of being caught up in the Hollywood media machine. 
These interludes are a welcome change of pace from the information-dense conversation, giving the story time to simmer away in the background. Each of these narratives is exciting in its own right, although at times it can be difficult to follow the sequence of events. The show maintains momentum, however, with the help of a strong cast all round. Particular praise is due to Maurey Richards’ doctor caught in a moral quandary, and Susie Amy’s explosive advocacy for a dear friend. Each character feels thought-through, well-realised and complex in their motivations.
This illustrates a benefit of productions based on true events – the characters grow complex by dint of actually having existed. Another advantage is that set-design and costume have a wealth of information to play with. The Marilyn Conspiracy’s stage is a shrine to 1960s opulence, drawn from magazine photographs of Monroe’s final residence taken shortly before her death. This attention to detail is also evident in the sound and lighting, particularly in transitions, which wonderfully build tension between the parallel narratives.
The mark of an effective real-life story is whether the audience leaves wanting to know more about its subject matter, and judging by interval conversations The Marilyn Conspiracy delivers. Although I remain unconvinced of the importance of a movie star’s death more than 60 years ago, I was gripped throughout its two and a half hour runtime. The writers’ passion for Monroe clearly shines through, and they make a compelling case for the conspiracy theories which continue to swirl around her death. What results is a tense, simmering drama that nails its execution.
https://ayoungishperspective.co.uk/2024/06/28/review-the-marilyn-conspiracy/

ISLINGTON TRIBUNE
(Lucy Popescu 27/06/24)
An engrossing whodunnit that explores the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe
THE suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe in August 1962, aged 36, have fuelled conspiracy theories for decades.
She was believed to have had affairs with US president John F Kennedy and his brother Bobby. Just before she died, Monroe had threatened to call a press conference and release the secrets contained in her diary.
Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson’s The Marilyn Conspiracy (with Genevieve Gaunt in the title role) tracks the star’s last days and imagines the five crucial hours between her death, and the reporting of her “probable suicide” by “drugs overdose” to the police.
In those missing hours, seven friends and employees of the Hollywood star meet in her home to discuss and agree on the same story before calling the police.
Pat Newcomb (Susie Amy) was Monroe’s publicist. Her housekeeper Eunice Murray (Sally Mortemore) discovered her body. Dr Hyman Engelberg (Maurey Richards) prescribed her sleeping pills and declared her death a suicide. Dr Ralph Greenson (David Calvitto) was her psychiatrist, Hilda (Angela Bull) his wife.
The play focuses on the actions of Peter Lawford (Declan Bennett) an English-American actor, brother-in-law of the Kennedys, and his wife Patricia Kennedy Lawford (Natasha Colenso, who stepped into the role at the last minute).
Crucially Lawford had visited Monroe with Bobby the afternoon of her death. Bobby returned that night with two other men. Lawford and Patricia have good reason to hush up Bobby’s involvement with Monroe in the hours before her fatal overdose. But they need to persuade the others to comply with their version of events.
Masterton, who also directs, presents the drama as a whodunnit. Although it occasionally feels crowded with eight actors trooping on and off the Park’s small stage, and the characters are sketchily drawn, The Marilyn Conspiracy is never less than engrossing.
Recommended.
https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/review-the-marilyn-conspiracy-at-park-200

NORTH WEST END
(Zain Russell 27/06/24)
Who did it? What caused it? “The Marilyn Conspiracy” is a thought-provoking play that invites the audience to ponder the events leading up to Marilyn Monroe’s death. From the outset, it is clear that extensive research went into creating this magnificent play, which takes you on a journey of what could have happened and the reasons behind it.
The play immediately introduces important historical characters who were “friends” of Monroe and perhaps involved in covering up something more sinister. Genevieve Gaunt embodies Monroe, showcasing the strong emotions that Marilyn was feeling on the day she died. Was she depressed, drunk, lonely or perhaps all three? The show highlights these emotions whilst allowing you to draw your own conclusions about what happened that night.
The set initially appears minimal, with the cast surrounding a square centre stage. Yet, the first scene opens with Monroe on a sofa, and the set spirals around, immersing viewers in the production. Even when one could only see the back of a character at some point, the slow spiral of the stage ensured everyone remained visible at all times, and really highlighted the effect that everyone played a part in the death of Monroe. 
The lighting was powerful, effectively transitioning between scenes and time periods. One particularly memorable element was the darkness between scenes, with the smoke of the set and small lights casting the shadow of Marilyn Monroe walking to and from the stage.
During the changing of the scenes, background radio voice clips highlighted the news of the time and current events, providing additional context and helping to immerse the audience in the era surrounding Monroe’s death.
Another notable aspect of the play was its exceptional pacing and structure. The narrative seamlessly wove between the events before Monroe’s death as well as the events that were happening immediately after whilst skilfully maintaining suspense and intrigue throughout.
Overall, while the show may not be historically accurate, it is aptly titled “The Marilyn Conspiracy.” The production provides insight into some true storylines and characters that Monroe knew and trusted. Even as a conspiracy, the show offers facts and details about Marilyn, shedding light on the events surrounding her death and the political figures she associated with in an entertaining way. 
The production leaves us questioning whether the events portrayed actually happened—are they true? We may never know, but it’s an impeccable production that allows you to draw your own judgment about what happened that evening.
https://northwestend.com/the-marilyn-conspiracy-park-theatre/

FAIRY POWERED PRODUCTIONS
(Sitarah Locke 30/06/24)
Retellings of Marilyn Monroe’s demise are not nearly as rare as she was, and it is refreshing to encounter one which paints her with dignity. This version of events, written by Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson, seeks to explain what may have taken place at Monroe’s Hollywood bungalow between the hours of 10pm and 4:20am on 4th and 5th August 1962. Thus, in true thriller fashion, it unravels a timestamped mystery behind why the same seven figures who toasted her latest picture deal three days earlier, all wind up in her home again that fateful night…and what they are doing during those misplaced hours before finally phoning the police.
The whole thing takes place in Marilyn’s living room – which hosts all the class and gold trim of a starlet’s house, made home by her booze and books (hat tip to set designer Sarah June Mills). The stage itself is in the round and turns slowly throughout the performance, as the characters spiral and replay the night’s events.
Two corresponding timelines, just a few hours apart, also take turns – a smart way of breaking up what would otherwise be a long evening of seven actors on sofas. This gives Marilyn Monroe (Genevieve Gaunt) herself some stage time, whilst very much alive. Gaunt’s masterful portrayal balances Monroe’s fragile mental state and distrust with a determinedness to defend her honour and beliefs. The force of nature is played as such, and not as simply the gullible beauty that some other interpretations have defaulted to. While entertaining us with the glitz, glam and famous sass, Gaunt also succeeds in the harder task of making Monroe entirely relatable.
She is helped in this by a close-knit cast. Notable performances include Susie Amy as a convincing Pat Newcomb, Marilyn’s press secretary and friend who fiercely defends her in life and death. Declan Bennett creates chemistry with every member of the cast as actor Peter Lawford, dancing between devil’s advocate and devil. Meanwhile, Sally Mortemore gives a standout performance as housekeeper Eunice Murray. Although Murray herself was one of the least standout personalities among Marilyn’s usual company, she played a key role in her daily life…and in recounting her death.
A thriller it may be, but the night was not without several laughs from the audience. How can we not? Marilyn herself was a magnetic entertainer, and entertained we were. While this play focuses solely on her death, it reminds us that she was – and always will be – larger than life.
https://fairypoweredproductions.com/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review/

THE GUARDIAN
(Arifa Akbar 28/06/24)
A doctor, a therapist and the Kennedy brothers are among the characters in this cocktail of facts and fiction…
Marilyn Monroe died on 4 August 1962 from a “probable suicide”. But was it in fact foul play? And was Bobby Kennedy present that night? Who knows. The only certainty is that Monroe, in her afterlife, hovers on the astral plane – a vulnerable blonde bombshell whose death has been linked to conspiracy theories involving the CIA, the mafia and politically motivated assassination.
Writers Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson blend a cocktail of facts with fiction, and an overarching theory that friends and associates of Monroe (Genevieve Gaunt) were part of a cover-up.
There is Monroe’s housekeeper Eunice (Sally Mortemore), who finds her unconscious; physician Dr Engelberg (Maurey Richards), who reports her death; and her shocked best friend, Pat Newcomb (Susie Amy). Others with less of an obvious reason for being there are present: Monroe’s therapist Ralph Greenson (David Calvitto); his wife, Hildi (Angela Bull); and, importantly, socialite and John F Kennedy’s sister Patricia Kennedy-Lawford (played heroically by understudy Natasha Colenso after McKellar, cast in the part, took ill) along with Peter Lawford (Declan Bennett), brother-in-law of the president.
Directed by Masterson, it plays out like a Hollywood homage spliced with a classic British drawing-room whodunnit as they convene in Sarah June Mills’ 1960s living-room set.
Scenes alternate between the hours before her death when she is in bath-robe and bare feet (albeit with immaculate red nails and lips), and a few days earlier when she is on the crest of a wave with a $2m studio contract.
The play turns into a thinly veiled exercise in airing the conspiracy theories and mysteries, characters variously sounding like suspects or detectives. Monroe’s affairs with John and Bobby Kennedy are mentioned. The latter has been violent towards her, we hear, and is scared she has incriminating information in a diary that Dr Greenson has encouraged her to keep. Monroe’s diaries, in real life, have revealed her fear of Lawford and he is a bullying figure here, orchestrating a cover-up of heinous male violence, sanctioned from the top.
Marilyn herself feels like an impersonation, breathless and volatile. She comes across as a spoilt child who plays with a stuffed toy and calls her therapist “shrinki”, her vulnerability not real or deep enough. Characters stew in repeated conspiracy theories, and it feels protracted. But the group dynamics show how people are bullied into collusion, and the theory that Monroe’s death was a result of naked male desire, power and control certainly lands.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/28/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review-park-theatre-london

THE TELEGRAPH
(Fiona Mountford 28/06/24)
here are some icons of the 20th century whom we simply refuse to allow to rest in peace and prime among them is Marilyn Monroe. She died at her California home in August 1962 at the age of 36; the verdict was “probable suicide”, but conspiracy theories have abounded ever since. 
In this thriller-cum-whodunnit, Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson sift through the details and discrepancies of the last four days of Norma Jeane Baker’s life, of how she went from a party on the Wednesday evening celebrating her new two-picture deal with Fox to, apparently, killing herself late on the Saturday.
Genevieve Gaunt, all breathy voice and capricious vulnerability, gives a convincing account of the fragile star with a penchant for pills and champagne. Marilyn is sexually involved with both (unseen) Kennedy brothers, Attorney General Bobby and President JFK, and there is immense consternation in Kennedy circles as to what career-detonating details Marilyn’s diary might contain and what, crucially, what she intends to do with it. McKellar and Masterson toggle between scenes involving Marilyn and those involving her seven-person inner circle in the hours immediately following her death. The most pressing question is this: why did it take them so long to call the police to report what had happened?
There is, initially, a whiff of tawdriness to Masterson’s production, which also threatens to be grindingly static despite a small central revolve. When the script veers into Agatha Christie territory, as Marilyn’s closest discuss timings and telephone calls in those all-important hours leading up to her death, there is a welcome injection of fresh impetus and interest. Movements and motivations – of her doctor, psychiatrist and housekeeper, not to mention actor friend Peter Lawford (Declan Bennett), brother-in-law- of the Kennedys – are carefully picked over, as well as pulled apart.
These scenes, for which we cannot help but expect Poirot to arrive like a deus ex-machina to supply all the answers, have a mounting heft, as stories are offered and tweaked, to the horror of Marilyn’s loyal friend and publicist Pat Newcomb (robustly grounded work from Susie Amy). Stern housekeeper Mrs Murray (Sally Mortemore) remains fascinatingly unreadable, but all seven characters are loosely shackled to a merry-go-round of repeated gestures, interjections and exclamations, which a more refined script would have worked to avoid.
Marilyn aficionados won’t want to miss this and even those, and I count myself among them, who are immune to her boo-boo-be-do charms will find themselves increasingly intrigued.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review-park-theatre/

THE STAGE
(Holly O’Mahoney 20/06/24)
Agatha Christie-style whodunnit wrapped around the suspicious death of Marilyn Monroe
The mystery surrounding the premature death of 36-year-old Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe has fascinated the world for decades and has been the subject of several conspiracy theories. That foul play was involved to protect the Kennedy brothers – president John and brother Robert, both of whom allegedly had relations with Monroe – is a common suspicion and one alluded to in Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson’s play.. But the focus here is on the group of friends who gathered the night when Monroe died, and what they talked about during the hours between finding her dead and calling the police.
On designer Sarah June Mills’ slowly rotating stage, which places the action in a living room of Monroe’s home filled with mid-century furniture, Masterson’s production coops up its six confidants. There’s a tinge of Agatha Christie to their ping-pong blame game as they blurt out revelations about their final interactions with the star and hurl accusations at one another, analysing the hours leading up to her death.
These scenes are spliced with flashbacks to Monroe’s last days, including a party held in her honour during which the same group gathered and a champagne-chugging Monroe was seemingly on top of the world, celebrating a £1 million movie deal. It’s a montage darkened by a bullying Peter Lawford (a domineering Declan Bennett), gruffly attempting to manipulate Monroe into handing over the diary that the Kennedys feared could expose their behaviour if leaked, while a stern-faced Patricia Kennedy-Lawford (Natasha Colenso, doing a decent job of stepping in at the last minute for the originally cast McKellar, with script in hand) looks on.
It’s hard to portray an icon such as Monroe – whose persona has been slimmed into a handful of hackneyed mannerisms over time – without succumbing to cliche. And under Masterson’s direction, Genevieve Gaunt’s Monroe is two-dimensionally high-pitched and breathy, either boop-a-doop-ing or throwing tantrums at her housekeeper Eunice Murray (a maternal Sally Mortemore) like a stroppy teenager. There is little sense, either, in McKellar and Masterson’s narrative of Monroe’s tough upbringing, or of her becoming a savvy businesswoman. Scenes deviating from the whodunnit crux that could explore these facets of the global star instead show her gossiping emptily with close friend Pat Newcomb (a devoted Susie Amy), discussing orgasms and her hushed-up romance with Marlene Dietrich.
There’s nowhere new McKellar and Masterson can really take this story either, without wading too far into fabrication. Still, the drama gets better as it develops, with the atmosphere intensifying and emotions heightening. And the suggestion of a shared, false alibi forming, clearing the group’s names and wiping the Kennedys out of the picture entirely, is lent shocking plausibility.
https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review-at-park-theatre-london-by-vicki-mckeller-and-guy-masterson

LONDONTHEATRE1
(Chris Omaweng 30/06/24)
Performed ‘in the round’ (strictly speaking, ‘in the rectangle’), a stage revolve moves about as slowly as the narrative in a show that, at least to me, felt like it was happening in real time. One might be inclined to think that Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) (Genevieve Gaunt) really should just be left alone. Indeed, that is what the other characters largely end up doing, arguing between themselves at length in the aftermath of her death – a “probable suicide”, according to the findings of the inquest.
On balance, the production might have been better off without the revolve and without stage-side seating – I noticed in the interval how a lamp on a table in a corner of the stage, and not on the revolve, were somewhat restricting the view of a couple of patrons in the front row. Within minutes, the storyline had reached the point at which a radio broadcast had announced Monroe’s death – and Gaunt’s Monroe might not have had much to do during the performance, save for the action not being in forward chronological order.
The time-hopping is both a blessing and a curse. The latter, of course, because at the start of each new scene, the flip-flopping takes the audience out of whatever present moment the previous scene was in and requires some readjustment accordingly. The former is partly on the account of Gaunt’s pitch perfect portrayal of Monroe – the look, the voice, the mannerisms, the demanding nature a wealthy Hollywood star might well possibly have made on her housekeeper, Eunice Murray (1902-1994) (Sally Mortemore). Flashback scenes break up a long meeting of minds.
In the first half, when a meeting of Monroe’s supposedly closest friends and confidants is called after she dies, a rather unnecessary piece of suspense music plays in the background, at length. Thankfully it’s dispensed with after the interval but what ultimately happens is that the show descends to the level of soap opera style shouting. Pat Newcomb (the real one is still alive, 93 years young at the time of writing) (Susie Amy), Monroe’s publicist, was, according to this production, furious with Peter Lawford (1923-1984) (Declan Bennett) – an English actor, hence an English accent – in turn married to Patricia (Natasha Colenso), both a socialite and a Kennedy.
People who tell others not to yell lose their own tempers remarkably quickly, until the lot of them, including Dr Hyman Engelberg (1913-2005) (Maurey Richards), Monroe’s doctor, and Dr Ralph Greenson (1911-1979) (David Calvitto), her psychiatrist, and Dr Greenson’s wife Hildi (1913-2013) (Angela Bull), are embroiled in a shoutathon. The reasons for the course of action the (not so) magnificent seven end up taking are given some context in Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson’s script, which come across as simultaneously contrived and helpful: times were different then, and wide-reaching possible implications if they did not all corroborate to bend the truth were made clear to the audience.
If anything, it’s a mildly interesting insight into how civilised and intelligent people can be pressurised and effectively bullied into doing and saying things that aren’t entirely, if at all, true, in the name of the greater good. The real-life implications of that are practically infinite. It is, however, rather too detailed, and for a play that is itself part-imagined, I found it difficult to maintain interest. Then again, there’s an almost textbook example in this show that demonstrates, well and truly, that it’s not what you know, but who you know, that can help someone get what they want.
https://www.londontheatre1.com/reviews/the-marilyn-conspiracy-at-park-theatre-review/

OPERATION LIVE THEATRE
(Isabella Thompson - 29/06/24)
Fame; intrigue; scandal: the perfect recipe for a filthy rich drama. But despite its fascinating history, The Marilyn Conspiracy production doesn’t quite meet the gritty heights of its true crime potential.
Inspired by the writings of Matthew Smith who exposed the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe, The Marilyn Conspiracy makes clear its message: despite official records stating ‘probable suicide’, this is not the truth. Our story begins with Monroe’s final moments and concludes with the critical phone call to the police notifying them of her death. The nucleus of the play is the stretch of five hours between these two events. Over the course of the play, the audience witness Monroe’s doctor, psychiatrist, housekeeper and four friends argue in a state of panic over what happened, who is to blame and the global ramifications of her passing.
As soon as the audience take their seats, they are transported into 1962’s Hollywood. The stage is set with an array of soft seating in retro beige and brown tones in typical 60s fashion, and as the action unfolds, the centrepiece continually rotates, giving the audience a full 360-degree view of the intimate lounge. We are immediately introduced to Genevieve Gaunt’s Marilyn: coquettish, ultra-feminine and a high-pitched sing-song voice to match. Gaunt does a wonderful job delivering a faultless accent and oozing with cheeky charm; however, what strikes me is co-writer and director, Guy Masterson’s decision to present a Marilyn Monroe that is the epitome of her pin-up ‘dumb-blonde’ stereotype.
It appears as though we are watching one of Marilyn’s signature characters — a Lorelei Lee, for example — rather than an authentic portrayal of Monroe herself. This would be acceptable if Marilyn were a cameo role in a satire about Hollywood’s Golden Age; but given that this play is a serious investigation concerning the circumstances around her death and (according to Vicky McKellar, co-writer and originator) comes from a place of deep respect, this seems a puzzling, if not an inappropriate directorial choice. Society has been obsessed with the image of Marilyn Monroe since her death, producing countless films, TV shows, fashion statements, photoshoots and more that result in a complete objectification of someone who hated being defined by her image. Sadly, despite their intentions, the play’s characterisation of Marilyn persuades me to put it in the same category as all those other Monroe stories that profit off of her image.
McKellar and Masterson’s writing is successful in its clever use of structure and analepses as well as formulating clear, distinct characters that jump off the page. It is evident that their work helps the actors bring their roles to life beyond what can be gathered from research, as many bold choices are made to communicate their personas. The production does suffer from a slight telenovela quality in that there are numerous dramatic one-liners and long stretches of dramatic postulating; however, this could be a matter of taste. What should be noted, is that the play feels too long, which is mainly due to the dialogue in the second half where characters have the tendency to go round in circles in their arguments. Too much time passes where nothing is revealed and the characters become stagnant in their perspectives, which usually causes the audience to disengage from the action. This is not helped by the Lord of the Rings-esque dramatic music played in between scenes and the flickering of lights after someone shouts “so if it wasn’t pills what was it?!”
Despite these drawbacks, it would be difficult not to be both intrigued and entertained by The Marilyn Conspiracy. The subject matter itself is tantalising and it is clear that a wealth of research was done to produce such a detailed analysis of the hours after Marilyn’s death. The political fallout, confusing evidence and many secrets that have remained a mystery to this day make for a gripping story; however, more work needs to be done on its execution for this play to shine as brightly as its heroine.
https://www.operationlivetheatre.com/post/the-marilyn-conspiracy

JEWISH CHRONICLE
(John Nathan - 27/06/24)
Co-written by Vicki McKeller and Guy Masterson (who also directs) this play believes Marilyn Monroe was murdered. There were, we learn, seven friends and acquaintances at the star’s Hollywood home on the night of Monroe’s death. Yet five hours passed before one of them reported the “apparent suicide”.
They group included actor Peter Lawford (Declan Bennett), his wife Patricia Kennedy (Natasha Colenso who replaces the unwell McKeller), Monroe’s doctor Dr Hyman Engelberg (Maurey Richards) and her psychiatrist Dr Ralph Greenson (David Calvitto).
All had been with Monroe to celebrate her new million-dollar movie contract with Fox, but what on earth did they talk about on the night of Monroe’s death?
In heated exchanges the play imagines that the doctors saw evidence of foul play. If this became public the resulting scandal would cause the government to fall because of Monroe’s affairs with the then American president Jack Kennedy and his brother Bobby, the attorney general. We also learn that Lawford had recently attempted and failed to bully Monroe into giving up her diary which could be deeply compromising for the brothers. Monroe refused, so Bobby, we are invited to conclude, had a motive to commit murder.
In the flashback scenes Genevieve Gaunt is a lively and angry Monroe taking a stand against the men who bully her. But exposition and dialogue that is far less witty than the people delivering it appear to think weigh these scenes down. The evening does spark into life when Lawford attempts, Twelve Angry Men-style, to persuade everyone to hide facts that would bring down the government.
Rat Pack star Lawford is the villain of the piece here, acting it seems at the behest of Bobby Kennedy. Yet with a structure that vaults back and forth from and to the night of Monroe’s death, this is not the thriller the creators apparently want it to be, a hope broadcast by the Hitchcockian mood music. The effect is more like a game of Cluedo, plus shouty exchanges revealing who did what and in which room. The facts are interesting, it’s true. But had conspiracy been shown rather than described, it would have made for a tenser evening.
https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review-an-evening-of-conspiracies-nwj48o0o

THE ARTSCAPE
(Fiona Doyle - 30/06/24)
The Marilyn Conspiracy was co-written by Vicki McKellar and Guy Masterson. Directed by Guy Masterson, it was first staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 2018 and is now at the Park Theatre in London. It runs from Thursday 20th June to Saturday 27 July.
This play is based on conspiracy theories about Marilyn Monroe ‘s death on 4th August 1962 aged 36. The theory being, that Marilyn Monroe was murdered and did not commit suicide and that the Kennedy family were somehow involved because Monroe was having affairs with JFK and his brother Bobby and she was threatening to go public about it.
The action takes place in a 50’s styled living room on slowly revolving stage. We first hear real radio footage from the time when Marilyn’s death was announced.
The play dramatises the shocking events of Marilyn’s last days laying bare on stage the five missing hours between Marilyn’s death, and the reporting of her apparent suicide by ‘drugs overdose’ to the police.
The dramatisation imagines those missing hours, where seven of Marilyn Monroe’s ‘friends’ gather together to figure out what to do and rewrite what happened before alerting the public to her death.
Genevieve Gaunt’s casting as Marilyn is fantastic. Her portrayal of the Hollywood bombshell is flawless even down to the famous hourglass figure. The flashback scenes where she portrays Marilyn in the run up to the inevitable event are convincing of a paranoid woman pushed to the edge because of her association with the Kennedy brothers.
If this was today, and if indeed there is any truth to these conspiracy theories, maybe she would be alive and writing a tell all book like Stormy Daniels and the president would be held accountable for his lies and coverups.
https://theartiscapegallery.com/the-marilyn-conspiracy-review/

Edinburgh Fringe Reviews 2018

THE SCOTSMAN 22/08/18 - SHEER POWER OF THE STORY RIVETS THE ATTENTION!
As Elton John observed, "all the papers had to say/ was that Marilyn was found in the nude";; and that combination of leering prurience and punitive self-righteousness fitted like a glove around the idea that this gorgeous, free-spirited sex-symbol of a woman had come to an inevitable bad end, overdosing on sleeping pills in despair over the end of her third marriage, and the fact that at 36, she was no longer young, in Hollywood actress years. The only trouble with this powerful yarn was that, as the decades rolled by, it began to unravel, and to be exposed by one writer after another as a tissue of lies. The Marilyn Conspiracy, an imperfect but utterly gripping new drama by Guy Masterson and Vicki McKellar, set in the living room of Marilyn's Hollywood house in the six hours after her death, tells, to the best of our current knowledge, the shocking story of how and why that narrative was constructed, by the seven people closest to Marilyn at the time.
It's a measure of the sheer power of the story, though, that the play rivets the attention nonetheless, as the two doctors in the room, and even Marilyn's furious friend Pat Newcomb, are gradually worn down into conniving with the suicide narrative. And most remarkable of all, 56 years on, is the extent to which this tale of casual sexual exploitation in Hollywood, and of powerful men willing to go to any lengths to silence women who might expose them, meshes perfectly with the #metoo moment in which we now find ourselves. Marilyn, too, knew all about sexual abuse in and around her industry; and it seems she may have paid the ultimate price of those who know too much, and who threaten to break their silence. (Joyce McMillan - The Scotsman - 22/08/18)

THE WEE REVIEW 13/08/18 - EDGE OF THE SEAT GRIPPING!
Marilyn Monroe died on August 5th 1962 of a supposed sleeping pill overdose but not everyone believes this to be true; several conspiracy theories surround the Hollywood icon's death and one such conspiracy theorist is co-writer of this piece, Vicki McKellar, who also stars in the play.
McKellar admits long having a fascination with the life and death of Marilyn Monroe, reading everything she could get her hands on. It was this in-depth reading which lead her to combine her love of the American actress with her screenwriting, and over time, and in collaboration with director, Guy Masterson, produce, The Marilyn Conspiracy.
Seven people were present at Monroe's house between the time of her death and several hours later when the police were eventually called. In this play the seven 'characters' are placed at the scene and the audience listen on as the ensuing conversations take place. Was it suicide or was it murder? And if it was murder, who killed Marilyn?
It is an edge-of-your-seat, gripping story and the audience are drawn in to Monroe's living room setting and to the tangled web of information which comes to light over the 75 minutes. Much as people do when they watch a crime drama on television each character is constantly scrutinised, eyes moving round the scene noticing every nuance in a bid to try and work out what is happening.
It is a fascinating story and one which translates well to stage. Special mention should be made for Masterson standing in at the last minute as Dr Hyman Engelberg. If it hadn't been mentioned at the beginning of the play nobody would have noticed, so assured and convincing was the performance.
Other notable performances come from Sally Mortemore as Mrs Eunice Murray, Marilyn's housekeeper, and Susie Amy as Pat Newcomb, PA and Secretary who was staying at Monroe's house in her final days. The hope is to take the show on to the West End in London and on tour round the UK and on this Edinburgh Fringe showing it would surely be a success. (Aisling McGuire - The Wee Review - 13/08/18)

BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE 10/08/18 - INTRIGUING - WILL SET TONGUES WAGGING
Nobody could accuse Guy Masterson of shirking. To start with, he is starring in A Christmas Carol and producing two cod-Shakespeare plays across town.
His major project for 2018 was always going to be co-writing and directing The Marilyn Conspiracy. However, he did not additionally expect to be replacing an actor who had fallen by the wayside at the beginning of the run. Pleasingly, the writer / director / actor was off the book halfway through the festival and nobody would have realised that he had not been fully rehearsed into his role.
Writers love conspiracy theories but then so do theatregoers. We all know that Marilyn Monroe died far too early, having taken an overdose in a lonely, distraught state. Well, we did.
The writers of this large-scale (for Edinburgh) play believe they have discovered that the reason for a six-hour delay in notifying the authorities of the actress's demise might have been far more sinister than anyone had previously imagined.
It quickly becomes clear that British actor Peter Lawford, a brother-in-law of the Kennedys played in this production by Oliver Farnworth, knows far more than he should about the circumstances and has what appears to be a vested interest in a cover-up.
Constantly goaded by the deceased star's close friend Pat Newcomb, played by Susie Amy, the actor is eventually forced to make what almost amounts to a confession, although his main motivation was to protect a couple of high-profile characters from accusations of complicity in what might have been a murder investigation.
If this all sounds vague, that is a compliment to the writer of this review. It would be far too easy to reveal the identities of the purported murderers, which would spoil the experience of anyone intending to see this Edinburgh show or, if the producers have their way, a national tour that might end with a long West End run.
Whether the theory is a close approximation to reality or hokum is something for the historians to debate debate but it is intriguing and will set tongues wagging. (Phillip Fisher - British Theatre Guide - 10/08/18)

DAILY BUSINESS MAGAZINE - 09/08/18 - RICH ENTERTAINING THEATRE
It's more than 50 years since Marilyn Monroe died and the manner of her death continues to be the subject of speculation. Was it really suicide, or was there something more sinister going on? Her connections with John and Robert Kennedy, and their subsequent deaths only adds to the rumour mill, opening up other interpretations and allowing for ever larger conspiracies to emerge.
The Marilyn Conspiracy is the product of four years work and 19 drafts and main writer Vicki McKellar has carried out painstaking research to put the project together. The result is a rich production that fleshes out one of the most common theories about Monroe's death and offers an explanation as to why suicide had to remain the official verdict.
The action takes place a few hours after the actress's body was discovered as seven people assemble at her home. They include psychiatrists, doctors, friends and a member of the Kennedy family. As they work through the events of the evening, trying to establish exactly when Monroe died and whether anything else could have been done to save her, doubts and questions emerge.
The cast play out the courtroom style drama with great finesse, each of them defending themselves from accusations and either seeking to discover the truth or cling on to the suicide verdict that has yet to be pronounced.
The production does't offer any theories that haven't been heard before, but it does put flesh on the bones of some of them and provides an entertaining piece of theatre in the process. (Andy Moseley - Daily Business Magazine - 09/08/18)

EXCELLENT SHOW - FRINGEREVIEW - 09/08/18 - A TENSE THRILLER!
A tense thriller re-imagining the events directly following the discovery of Marilyn Monroe's body. Seven people argue about what happened, why it happened and what they should do next.
Marilyn Monroe died on the night of 5th August 1962 at her home in Los Angeles, California. Her death was ruled as 'probable suicide' by an overdose of the sedative drugs, empty bottles of pills being found near her body.
Like the untimely deaths of other celebrities who had reached a stratospheric level of fame, from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain, the death of Marilyn Monroe has been plagued by conspiracy theories since the first media announcement that it had occurred. Over the years, theories have been espoused ranging from her being murdered by the mafia or kidnapped by aliens to her death actually being faked and her still being alive somewhere, probably on a tropical island. One of the more plausible possibilities is the involvement of the Kennedys " Marilyn was famously rumoured to have had affairs with both President John F. Kennedy and his brother Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy.
Potential Kennedy involvement is the thread picked up by Guy Masterson and Vicki McKellar in this fascinating new work. Seven people enter the realistic 1950s-style living room set and arrange and adjust vases and other props before taking their seats, ready to show us a story. Marilyn's housekeeper Eunice Murray, her two doctors " her psychiatrist Dr Ralph Greenson, accompanied by his wife, and her medical doctor Dr Hyman Engelberg (in this production played by writer Guy Masterton, doing a wonderful job stepping in last minute for an actor who unfortunately had to drop out due to an incident with his family), her best friend and press secretary Pat Newcomb, and Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford with his wife Patricia who was also sister to Jack and Bobby Kennedy. They're all in shock. Marilyn is dead. She's in the next room. The police haven't been called yet. Peter needs a drink and Eunice brings champagne " it's all Marilyn has in the house, apparently.
The tension between Peter Lawford and Pat Newcomb comes to the fore immediately, as she attacks him for drinking champagne when Marilyn's body is in the next room. The semantics of the language used are unpacked " when Dr Greenson says she was anxious, upset, angry, distressed " are these similar emotions on the same continuum, or do they mean very different things? Which one was she? Blame bounces around the room as the very strange and inconsistent circumstances surrounding Marilyn's death emerge. Was her body cleaned up and moved? How did Peter know to come to the house, and who has he been talking to on the phone? What was the cause of her death? Was Marilyn pregnant? Was she a communist? Did she know state secrets and write them in her diary?
Peter is clear on one thing " they need a consistent account (or "story";, as Pat says bitterly) to present to the police. There can be no inconsistencies. With the world's media always ready to pounce and the potential ramifications this could have on American politics, self-preservation becomes the name of the game and Peter is intent on presenting to the others, through a combination of strong-arm threats, murky details and unpleasant logic, exactly what they must say happened. Not only must they say it to the police, they must stick to this version of events until the day they die.
In a stand-out performance, Susie Amy's Pat is the only person who seems to genuinely care about the truth and Marilyn's reputation. She just can't believe Marilyn committed suicide and her despair and frustration is palpable. Oliver Fanworth's Peter is unpleasant, misogynistic and manipulative, using every method at his disposal to force the others to do what he wants. Fanworth makes Peter intensely unlikeable but never crosses the line into caricature. The conflict between these two strong characters is what drives the action.
After a static start " mainly talking heads with fixed positions around the room " the pace, conflict and tension pick up and the flurry of names, times and details thrown at us highlights exactly how difficult it is to pinpoint exactly what happened, putting us right there in the action just as confused as the characters are (with the exception of Peter, who clearly knows a lot more about what happened than he is letting on).
In the style of "12 Angry Men", this show explores the subjective nature of truth, as "facts"; are questioned, skewed and discredited. Who can really testify to Marilyn's state of mind? As the previously tight-lipped and hard to read Eunice Murray, whose employment with Marilyn has clearly involved a high level of discretion, finally admits certain things, the show seems to offer a conclusion on what might have happened and why everybody involved lied about it.
If you enjoy well-crafted, dialogue-driven theatre in the realist tradition, or you're a fan of Marilyn Monroe (and aren't we all?) then this show is a diverting afternoon which will leave you with a lot of fascinating questions and a desire to find out more. (Erin Hutching - FringeReview - 09/08/18)

EDINBURGH GUIDE - 10/08/18 - BREATHTAKING AND COMPELLING!
New York Times: "Hollywood, Calif., Aug. 5, 1962 -- Marilyn Monroe, one of the most famous stars in Hollywood's history, was found dead early today in the bedroom of her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. She was 36 years old. Beside the bed was an empty bottle that had contained sleeping pills. ..an arm was stretched across the bed and a hand hung limp on a telephone. The Police were called at 4.20am. Inspector Edward Walker said, "So far as the doctors were concerned, there was no evidence of crime."
Following the post-mortem by the Deputy Medical Examiner, Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the cause of death was "probable suicide";. It was believed likely that Monroe was driven to despair after the abrupt end of her love affair with President Kennedy. Less than three months earlier on May 19th she had sung "Happy Birthday, Mr President" at Madison Square Garden after which she never saw him again. What actually happened on that last day and evening of Marilyn Monroe's life is still shrouded in mystery.
The setting is the lounge of Marilyn's bungalow, with modest, modern design & decor - rattan wicker sofa and chairs dressed with gold velvet cushions, a lamp, Art books, coffee table, telephone. An open door leads to the bedroom where her cold, blue-tinged body is lying, Rigor Mortis has not yet set in. The time is around 1am on Sunday 5th August.
Three men and four women slowly enter the room to take a seat or stand at the side, with an expression of shock on each face. They are Marilyn's housekeeper, Eunice Murray, Dr Ralph Greenson, her psychiatrist and his wife Hildi, Dr. Engelberg, her medical doctor, the actor Peter Lawford, his wife, Patricia Kennedy-Lawford, (a sister of Jack and Bobby Kennedy), and her Press Secretary, Pat Newcomb,
Like Mrs White, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum et al, in the board game, Cluedo, they wait at the side until one makes the first move. With a loud shriek, Pat breaks the silence, "What happened?"; she demands to know. Dressed in silk pyjamas and hair in a tousled ponytail, she is the most emotionally upset, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. The bare, basic facts are revealed about Eunice finding Marilyn collapsed in the Guest house on Saturday evening about 10.30pm. Dr. Greenson rushed over to administer adrenaline and despite CPR by paramedics she passed away within an hour.
Looking as if he just stepped off a yacht in a navy polo and white chinos, Peter appears to take control of the situation with a sly, sycophantic smile. As if this is a social occasion, he calmly opens a bottle of champagne, " No, don't call the police"; he says firmly, "we have to discuss how to release the news";.
And so a fierce round of questioning begins with each person put in the spotlight as on trial: Dr. Greenson describes her mental state, Dr Engelberg confirms a prescription for Nembutal sleeping pills, Eunice admits that Bobby Kennedy had visited the house that afternoon. "I never did like the Kennedys,"; murmurs Hildi which infuriates the glamorous Patricia in her slim red dress, looking annoyed that she had to leave a party to come here. Pat is almost hysterical, saying that Marilyn was not suicidal but happy, and just signed a two picture deal.
With the audience sitting just a few feet away, we feel we are there in the room, eavesdropping every word, every lie, watching every glance and gesture: Peter's increased panic in his voice, Dr Engelberg's gradual state of nervousness and sweating brow, shifting in his chair, Dr. Greenson, is getting confused about what he saw, what he did, while Eunice, sits with her head in hands, shaking with despair and fear. Who, why, when .. a volley of accusations ricochot like bullets around the chilling atmosphere. It is all so utterly realistic.
With precise period designs, and immaculate, mannered performances all round, the cool, crisp action is gracefully choreographed by Guy Masterson, as the tension rises and the time ticks on towards 4.20am.
The real life scenario surrounding Marilyn's death is conceived like a typical Agatha Christie novel in which the group of murder suspects is gathered in a drawing room for the final denouement, masterminded by Hercule Poirot before he reaches his conclusion and names the culprit.
This is the world premiere of a bold, breathtaking, compelling crime drama, in which these seven friends, seven witnesses, seven suspects are brought together to admit the unbelievable truth. Fact is far stranger and shocking than fiction. (Vivien Devlin - Edinburgh Guide - 10/08/18)

Punters' Reviews - Edinburgh 2018

Sean Davis 23/08/18 - After discovering Marilyn Monroe dead, six people gather in her living room to try to determine what happened before calling the police. Presumably much of the script tries to construct of chain of events to explain the facts revealed well after the inquest that found her to have committed suicide. The play becomes unnecessarily repetitive because the script tries to explain the delay in calling the police by having the participants learn of key facts a little at a time and re-hash their thoughts with each new fact.

Chris Newman 20/08/18 - An excellent performance by all of a well-constructed script that sets out an entirely credible theory that Marilyn Monreo did not die by her own hand. Well worth seeing. Congratulations to cast and crew.

Mrs F 20/08/18 - I was absolutely hooked watching this play. From the minute the play started to the very end, they had my attention to detail of what actually happened in the first few hours after Marilyn's death. It had me so captivated, that I am still replaying the evidence in my mind days after. The acting was fantastic I was completely drawn in to the story. This will be a huge success and go far. So pleased I can say I was at the start of this shows journey. Well done to all involved.

Moyra Flynn 17/08/18 - Saw this show with 3 friends. We all loved it. Excellent performances from the cast. We were all old enough to remember this happening.Reinforced the suspicions which have always been there.

Agnes Joyce Wells 16/08/18 - Enjoyed the show. Really made you think about happened. I found the production well crafted, but perhaps a bit too much hysteria at times. This was repititious and the only criticism I would make. I would recommend.

Donal McCay 10/08/18 - Great theatre. Everyone remembers Marilyn. (Even those born after her mysterious death.) The play may well tell the truth about her death and it is really shocking. Very well written and directed and beautifully performed by an outstanding ensemble - this is a must-see.

Christine McDerment 07/08/18 - Was at the "World Premiere". A Guy Masterson production is always a sign of quality and this was no different. A thought provoking and realistic piece about what might have occurred in the hours after Marilyn's death. Learnt quite a few new things which certainly seemed to make sense within the production. Perhaps one day it all will be revealed.

Michael Godsman 03/08/18 - A play that requires your full attention and is thought provoking and entertaining at the same time.

Originator's Note: Vicki McKellar
I've been fascinated by Marilyn Monroe since my teens... her beauty, her allure and charisma drew me to her... but there was also a sense of sadness and loneliness which I recognised in myself. They say you are attracted to what you see in yourself, and I was certainly drawn to Marilyn''s sadness. It was something deep within..... something untouchable.... but definitely there, so I started reading about her. Firstly, I read all the books I could about her life. Of course, they all touched on how she died, which was supposedly... suicide but then, in about 1996, I read Matthew Smith's, '7;The Men Who Murdered Marilyn';. Matthew''s research was so thorough exposing so much suspicious activity surrounding her death it left many unanswered questions... If she'd only committed suicide, why the suspicions which seemed to reach right up to the highest echelons of power? Another book, '7;The Strange Death of Marilyn Monroe'; by Frank A.Cappell also alluded to unanswered questions and pointed to a cover-up. Finally, after reading, Matthew Smith's second book on the subject, '7;Victim: The Secret Tapes of Marilyn Monroe';, I was convinced that Marilyn had not died by her own hand. I'd entered the seemingly limitless world of internet conspiracy theories, facts, myths and rumours. In 2014, with a mountain of my own research now at my disposal, I had the urge to put pen to paper and start writing a script for the stage which I provisionally titled, Marilyn - Her Final Days. I met Guy in 2015 when I visited him for acting coaching to help me work on the character of Marilyn - whom it had been my dream to play... and here we are, after 3 years of collaboration, 19 drafts and 5 full cast readings, The Marilyn Conspiracy is finally being born. I am more than happy with the finished script - finessed brilliantly by our fabulous cast, and even though I am not playing Marilyn - for reasons that will become apparent, I'm thrilled to be acting in my own play surrounded by such a talented ensemble and to bring what I believe is the truth of Marilyn''s untimely demise to the stage. Vicki McKellar

Director's Note: - Guy Masterson
Nearly sixty years since her death at 36, she remains the world's most famous screen icon. Millions of words and hundreds of books have been written about her life. She remains an object of fascination and adoration even to many who have never seen her work. Her star only shone for a decade, but her movies had already grossed over £200m by the time she died in August 1962
Until my co-writer Vicki McKellar approached me with the idea for this play 3 years ago, I had very little knowledge about her. I had heard the rumours of her involvement with the Kennedy brothers, Jack and Bobby, and I remember having seen a documentary about the suspicions surrounding her sudden death, but it didn't really lodge in my consciousness... until I read Vicki's draft script.
Vicki was and is convinced that Marilyn's death was not suicide and her research into the facts was so assiduous it didn't take much to convince me. There were 7 people present bewteen the hours of 10.35 when Marilyn was found unconscious to the moment they finally called the police at 04:25. What the hell did they talk about while Marilyn was lying dead in the other room?
I came on board initially to 'dramaturg' the piece, to ensure all the facts were clear, the arguments surrounding them, logical and cogent and to ensure the presence of a dramatic arc. I'd had the phenomenal experience of directing and playing in two of the finest theatrical arguments in Reginald Rose's 12 Angry Men and David Mamet's Oleanna, so I was certain it could be done, but where was the heartbeat of the piece? Well, we certainly found it and I will not give that away as it is for you to experience. By the end of this play, we feel you too will not be in any doubt as to what really happened that night, and exactly why and how Marilyn's death entered the history books as 'Probable Suicide.' Guy Masterson

Designer's Notes: - Sarah June Mills
I started the design process by researching the house in Brentwood where Marilyn died. I was very surprised by what I found. It was not at all what I expected from the ultimate Hollywood glamazon! It was very modest, simple and rustic- essentially a bungalow in the Spanish style. No gilded mirrors, white velvet sofas or sleek Danish teak. In fact quite the opposite; a mismatch of rustic Spanish furniture, rattan, cosy ethnic pillows and a clutter of holiday souvenirs, books and newspapers. An unpretentious, very real home for someone who had always craved a simple family life. Researching further I learned that she had recently been on a trip to Mexico, and had arranged for new furniture to arrive on August 6, the Monday after she died. Another small reason the verdict of Probable Suicide makes less sense. Marilyn was creating her first home of her own
But the simple nature of her real decor posed an issue: Would our audience be disappointed by a shabby, mismatched, cluttered set? Would they think we couldn't afford to 'do' Hollywood at the Edinburgh Fringe!? Would they know where we are? While it's essential the audience knows that the play takes place in Marilyn's house, the play is more about exposing the truth- untangling the fact from the fiction. Marilyn spoke often about trying to find 'truth' in her performances. So we decided to honour her- and present as truthful a representation of her home at that time as possible.
Researching further into the forensic minutiae of her life, such as what books she was reading, the records was she listening to and what was on her shelves, I also poured over the ground plans of the house and pieced together police photographs of the scene to build a more complete picture. I then sourced furniture and props as close to reality as possible.
However, in all this 'truth' I still felt something was missing; Marilyn the Myth and Marilyn the Woman are inseparable but in a constant tug-of-war. She'd created a character, Hollywood ran with it, and everything surrounding her life and death was entirely artificial. Indeed The play opens with the myth, exposes it, and of course closes with it and it's this sense of artifice, and the fragility of the true Marilyn trapped in the centre of it, that led me to start thinking of the set as a Hollywood sound stage with bright studio lights beaming down onto the bed on which her body lies. A sense of intrusion and constant surveillance (her house was discovered by renovators in the mid-1970's to be heavily wire-tapped. She'd lived in a fish bowl. Everyone present in her living room in the hours after Marilyn died was essentially a player - bound to live out the lie of her death until their own and no truth, except that of the bruised blonde woman, stripped of all her Hollywood trappings, laying on the bed in the next room. Sarah June Mills.