If you're really keen on the "golden age" of Hollywood and are prepared to swelter in a subterranean studio space, A Conversation with Edith Head will be the one-woman show for you. You'll know that Head was a legendary costume designer who worked on more than 1,100 films and won eight Oscars in a career spanning six decades. You might even be able to forgive the irritating device of audience stooges asking "Ms Head" questions.
It's 1981, just weeks before Head's death, and the grande dame who dressed even grander dames such as Dietrich, Davis and West is in a backward-looking mood.
Susan Claassen potters gamely about, anecdoting harmlessly away with her irritating hand gestures. The script, by Claassen and Paddy Calistro, is cannily arranged and sensibly isn't chronological. Yet the whole project does permanently threaten to run out of steam.
Edith Head, until 31 August (0844 847 2375)
A Conversation With Edith Head
Leicester Square Theatre
Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX
