Mr Maugham at Home

The story of one of Britain’s most celebrated authors and playwrights

Anthony Smee (The English Patient, Star Wars, Channel 4’s The Queen) delivers the performance of a lifetime in this hugely entertaining one man drama of the life of William Somerset Maugham written by Anthony Curtis.

Bridging Oscar Wilde and James Bond, Somerset Maugham wrote almost to his dying day aged 91 in December 1965. Fabulous wealth flowed from his books and plays and he became the interwar toast of Hollywood, Broadway and the West End. The Razors Edge, Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, The Letter and Rain are just a handful of his classic novels and short stories. Playwright Anthony Curtis, brings the panorama of Somerset Maugham’s life to the stage with an extraordinary performance by Anthony Smee; the stricken child, the student in Heidelberg, the doctor in Lambeth’s slums, the struggling writer in Paris, the stretcher-bearer on Flanders’ fields and, incredibly, the international spy. Finally, after glittering success, the tragedy of a life ending in misery, paranoia and social opprobrium.

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Anthony Smee gives a superb performance as the worldly expatriate. The Times

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Rare for a one-man performance, the evening is a theatrically satisfying whole - an almost symbiotic collaboration between writer, actor and director. The Stage

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Anthony Smee is extremely genial company to keep as Maugham, cleanly conveying this Victorian gentleman’s stuttering reserve and disquieting oddity. Time Out

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Smee, with the great Graham Sutherland portrait, suggests the reptilian and repellent in Maugham, the final paranoid outburst is violent and frightening. What’s On

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This show never flags due to the wealth of fascinating information and the expertise of actor Anthony Smee - an outstanding performance. Ham & High

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Mr Maugham at Home can be seen on the following dates:

The Cheltenham Playhouse: May 8, 9, 10 & 11, 2013 (Box office: 01242 522852)

Stroud Subscription Rooms: June 8, 2013 (tel: 01453 522852)

Malmesbury Town Hall: September 19 (tel: 01666 822143)

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