Diva In Me, The (BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play)

Oct 10, 2024 2:27 PM

Author:Charlotte Jones,Stuart McLoughlin,Sally Orrock,Daniel Rabin,Joanna Monro,Brian Bowles

A BBC Radio 4 comedy musical drama, ‘The Diva in Me’, was specially written by multi award-winning playwright Charlotte Jones, for the actress and extraordinary mimic Phillippa Stanton. The music, woven into the narrative is an essential part of the story.Phillipa spends Saturday night eating toast and fantasizing about a boy-man from Southern Electric. She can sing anything from Bjork, to Winehouse, Garland to Gaga, even Shirley Bassey, but why has the world turned it’s back on her? On top of her extraordinary talent, Phillipa discovers the ingredient that will finally make her a truly great diva! Last broadcast on 5 May 2011 and directed by Claire Grove. Also starring Stuart McLoughlin as Shadwell, Sally Orrock as Vicki, Daniel Rabin as Gene Kelly, Joanna Monro as Mona and Brian Bowles as Trevor.

Reviews

A thoughtful, moving and insightful memoir

—— Manchester Evening News

The tragic story behind one of television's cheeriest faces

—— Jewish Chronicle

An entertaining autobiography

—— Heat

Frank and intimate

—— Evening Standard

no-holds-barred

—— List

very funny but also very moving

—— The London Paper

very funny

—— Hampshire View

there are moments here that shine with the genius for observational comedy for which Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (the Fatty of the title) are famous

—— Guardian

Dawn writes (with) tenderness, caring and oodles of charm. Well-paced, it's a reminder of why she has been a staple of the British comedy scene since the early 1980s

—— Guernsey Press

Anyone perparing for another dry, identikit celebrity autobiography is going to be delighted by these hilarious memoirs

—— She

French can still cut the comic mustard

—— Time Out

while much of the book's tone is that of the unassailably jolly Dawn we all expect ... other letters are tear-jerkingly poignant and none more so than those she writes to her late father Denys French

—— Daily Express

For all her honesty anyone hoping for a light-hearted romp will be delighted ... While her charm shines throughout, the more intense moments stay with you in a way that most celeb autobiographies can only strive for

—— Sunday Express

you'll be captivated by her witty and warm style

—— Prima

Self-depracating yet never self-pitying, irreverent yet never truly cynical, she comes across as a woman genuinely at ease with herself ... French is engaging company, and at her best she writes about heartbreak and elation with such grace that her book is impossible to dislike

—— Boston Standard

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