Veronica Lake was a film star in the 1940s. She was a tiny, sexy blonde. Her hair was styled to fall artfully over her face concealing one eye. She lived her life in a similar manner – changing her story to suit the mood she was in at the time. Drowning in Veronica Lake is a stylised telling of her story.

Alex Ellis solos in this show. She is confined to one place  by her costume. It is a fitted white dress that spreads around her, filling up the stage. Her physical movements are restricted to bending and posing. This is balanced by her excellent voice work. Ellis has a wonderful old Hollywood accent which subtly changes as the character slips into drunkenness. She is helped by the lighting design which helps her embody different characters. (Playwright Phil Ormsby operates the lights as well.)

It’s an intriguing piece about the cost (not the price) of celebrity.