Ovation's Wallis… A Certain Person

5m, 5f

• Pearl Jones: Maid to the Lady Furness. Chirpy cockney (father is a dock worker), new in the job but bright and confident. Pearl is a fictional character. Playing age: 19-20 (f)
• Raymond Crabbe: Valet to the Prince of Wales. Slightly camp (it is 1931). Ideally should be able to sing and play the piano in the style of Noel Coward. Raymond is a fictional character. Playing age: 25-30 (m)

The following characters are all real and can easily be researched

• Wallis Simpson: “That” woman who stole the heart of the Prince of Wales and nearly brought down the British Monarchy. She has angular (almost masculine) features, tall and thin. Playing age: 34 (f)
• Thelma (Lady) Furness: As our play opens she is the current mistress of the Prince of Wales, young but knows exactly what she’s doing. American (but born in Switzerland) her second husband was Marmaduke Furness and after being supplanted by Wallis she had an affair with Prince Aly Khan. Her twin sister was Gloria Vanderbilt. Playing age: 26 (f)
• Ernest Simpson: American born but naturalised British – a shipping executive who married Wallis in 1928. Served in the First World War and eventually married Mary Kirk who had been a bridesmaid at his marriage to Wallis. Playing age: 34 (m)
• Edward (Fruity) Metcalf: Confidant and equerry to the Prince of Wales. Served in the British Indian Army where he impressed the Prince with his knowledge and ability to organise. Was a trusted member of the Prince of Wales’ staff and Best Man at his wedding to Wallis after the abdication. His ‘after-hours’ tastes were rumoured to be bi-sexual. Playing age: 43 (m)
• Lady Emerald Cunard: American born, London based society hostess and friend of Wallis. She was born Maud Burke but married shipping heir Sir Buche Cunard in 1895. Playing age: 58 (f)
• David, Prince of Wales: Eldest son of George V and Queen Mary, he served in the British Army in WW1. In the 1920s he became a ‘celebrity Prince’,  escorting various married women to social events, much to the disgust of his mother and father. He was a genuine playboy and there is (like Wallis) a huge amount of information about him on websites. Although for a short time (in 1936) he became Edward VIII he was known in social circles as David. Playing age: 36 (m)
• Stanley Baldwin: Conservative Prime Minister between June 1935 and May 1937. This was his third term as Prime Minister and he is recognised as being one of the leading politicians of the inter-war years. The abdication was one of his many challenges, he said he would have preferred it if Wallis had been a “respectable whore” and did his best to persuade the King not to abdicate – he failed and had to deal with the royal crisis that enveloped the country. Playing age: 63 in 1935 (doesn’t appear until Act 2) (m)
• Lucy Baldwin: Born in London, raised in Sussex she was very active in maternity health throughout her life. She married Stanley Baldwin in 1892 and helped him considerably during his years as Prime Minister. Playing age: 61 in 1935. (Can be doubled with Lady Cunard). (f)

**** Jenny Selway’s new play tells one of the best-known stories from one of the least explored perspectives. John Plews’ production is one of the most engaging and best acted shows I’ve seen on this stage, and a better option than many a West End offering. John Nathan, Jewish Chronicle 

**** An enjoyable, thoughtful, wittily scripted piece of theatre, devised and directed by John Plews. Susan Elkin, Musical Theatre Review 

‘Wallis: A Certain Person’, Jennifer Selway’s gossipy but ultimately emotionally nuanced play with music, takes a less rose-tinted look at this notorious liaison. Making Wallis Simpson sympathetic is not an easy task. Selway rightly doesn’t try to rehabilitate Wallis as a misunderstood romantic heroine and doesn’t sentimentalise the way in which the great passion was very much on Edward’s side and more smothering than romantic. John Plews’ production evokes a world of cocktail parties and naughty weekends in the country. Julia Rank, The Stage 

Jennifer Selway and John Plews have devised a smart, brittle and entertaining play framed with a collection of songs by Simon Slater in the manner of Noel Coward William Russell, Reviews Gate

**** Fresh light on woman who won a king’s heart. Everyone knows about the American divorcee that cost Edward VIII his throne. Jennifer Selway has researched the matter thoroughly and discovered more information about Wallis Simpson and her background. Originally directed and devised by John Plews, Selway‘s play deals with their meeting, their romance and ends with their marriage. A very entertaining evening with many revelations. Aline Waites, Ham & High