Assembly @ George Street
6 - 31 Aug (not 17, 24), 12:40pm (1:50pm) 

The world never tires of Winston Churchill; a new clutch of films, biographies, and TV documentaries shed fresh light on this greatest of national heroes each year.  But My Darling Clemmie, which (bar a few local previews) premieres at the Fringe, adds an intriguing twist to the well-known story.  For this play is not about Winston - but his wife.

It's the scriptwriter's name which first draws the eye.  When it comes to Churchill, Hugh Whitemore's credentials are beyond reproach: his 2002 screenplay The Gathering Storm was universally praised, and the one-off biographical drama picked up both an Emmy and a BAFTA award that year.  The relationship between Winston and Clementine was already front and centre of his TV script, but Whitemore clearly has more to say about the woman described as "the guardian angel of our country's guardian".

The title role in this one-woman show is taken by Rohan McCullough, who herself can claim a fine pedigree.  Her portrayal of Vera Brittain in A Testament of Youth picked up a Scotsman award on its trip to Edinburgh, and was praised by Brittain's daughter, Shirley Williams, in no less a forum than the House of Lords.  We haven't, of course, had a chance to see this new show; but with a tried-and-tested author and a proven character actress on the stage, it seems all but destined to succeed.