Acclaimed by both critics and theatregoers alike during its Chichester run, Somerset Maugham's The Circle has proved to be exactly that for Susan Hampshire, one of the nation's best-loved and most beautiful actresses.
Playing Lady Kitty – a splendid example of growing old gaudily – Susan last appeared in the play in 1976, also at Chichester, in the role of the young and love-struck Elizabeth.
'The Circle appeals to both younger and older audiences and is a very funny play,' says Susan, 'but it also has a very poignant undertone. My character left her husband 30 years ago to run off with his best friend and she's been living in exile in Italy ever since. She's invited back and the rather natural young woman that she was has become a rather ridiculous character; over made-up and over-dressed. It is a very well written and clever play that will make people laugh, but that will also tug at the heartstrings.'
Described by one critic as "a flamboyantly fading flower," would a modern day Kitty be sporting pelmet-type skirts and have succumbed to the lure of procedures such as Botox? 'Absolutely,' agrees Susan. 'Kitty obviously sleeps in a face pack and dyes her hair, which is a big secret, or so she thinks, and she dresses in slightly ridiculous clothes, although she knows all the best dressmakers.
The 'Kitties' of this world may not recognise themselves but Susan is a face familiar to many. With a host of prestigious theatre productions and films to her credit, she has also delighted millions of television viewers, most recently as the darling of the Highlands, Molly, in the BBC's Monarch of the Glen in which she starred with Richard Briers.
Coming to Milton Keynes for a week from 9 September, Susan is delighted to be returning to the town, not least because of the quality of the audience. 'Milton Keynes is a very large theatre with an absolutely wonderful audience. They get great quality shows there, and it's an incredibly well run theatre. Because it's so well run you tend to play to full houses, which is very nice, and the audiences really are terrific. The theatre itself and the quality of the audience makes playing Milton Keynes an absolute pleasure for me,' she says.
Of working in theatre Susan admits that she is very superstitious. 'Oh yes, I really am!' she insists. 'On my first preview (of The Circle] I saw a single magpie and I was hysterical. I've now drawn two beautiful magpies that I keep in my dressing room, so that if ever I see one I know that I have two more,' she concludes, triumphantly brandishing an accomplished drawing.
Because she is dyslexic Susan has always found learning lines a difficult and laborious project. 'Line learning is a nightmare, an absolute nightmare,' she sighs. I pay people to hear my lines as it's an agonising job to listen to someone rehearsing them, and I start learning them very early. Noel Coward always said that one of the most important things is to have your lines under your belt almost before you start rehearsals. When you're young you don't agree with that, but as you get older you realise how valuable it is. The real work starts once you've learned the lines so I try to do it as early as possible.'
Refusing to let dyslexia get in the way of her desire to write, Susan is also an author as well as an actress. As well as children's books and several non-fiction titles, Susan has also written two books about dyslexia. The highly praised Susan's Story is an autobiographical account of her struggle with dyslexia, while Every Letter Counts is a collection of interviews with dyslexics.
After The Circle Susan says she will be popping up on our screens in The Royal. She is also looking forward to pursuing her latest hobby through a new TV series. 'I've only just taken it up but I love playing bridge,' Susan twinkles, explaining that the television project will be a short series about the game, involving live play. 'The winner can give £20,000 to their favourite charity, which is very exciting, and of course bridge is wonderful for the old grey cells. Anything that keeps us fit and independent for the day we make our maker, well, it's what you want, isn't it?'
Keeping a clear head is something Susan is well practiced at, so much so that on her first proper date with her husband, impresario Sir Eddie Kulukundis, he drank almost an entire bottle of wine on his own. 'I didn't make him, she protests, laughing, 'but he'd bought a very good bottle of wine for us to share and because I was driving and had to get up early the next day to take my son to school I didn't drink more than a tiny drop. Because it was such an expensive bottle he thought it best not to leave it on the table and drank it all himself. He says that this is when he saw the green light and realised that he wanted to marry me,' she smiles.
So what does Susan think Milton Keynes theatregoers will enjoy most about The Circle? She pauses only briefly to consider before replying: 'Having played the younger role 30 years ago I knew that it was a beautifully constructed play with a great thread of truth and poignancy in it. And there's enormous humour, which is such a wonderful tonic. It's not an overly long play, which I think for an audience is a nice quality in today's busy world, and the cast are all lovely and all so good. Ultimately, it's about love. What better subject is there?'