Marilyn Monroe, movie star. Ruth Ellis, murderer. Infamous women. Famous last words, re-imagined by award-winning writer and performer, Joan Ellis.

Died Blondes takes the audience on an emotional journey from Holloway to Hollywood, piecing together the latest theories to give these two so-called dumb blondes a voice moments before they die. What was going on in their hearts and minds?

They had more in common than a bottle of peroxide. They were ambitious, not afraid to use their charms to get what they wanted but they were also abused by men. They fell in love with the wrong people who ultimately contributed to their demise. Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hung in Britain, was executed 13 July1955. She was just 28 years old. Marilyn died on the 5 August 1962 aged 36.

Marilyn Monroe, President John Kennedy’s ex-mistress, whispers secrets about the Kennedy clan to ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, in her final paranoid phone call. In fear for her life, she begs him to help as she relives her past and fends off threats from intruders. Are her fears real or the imaginings of a drug-addled mind?

We find Ruth Ellis alone in her cell minutes before her execution, reading her letter to lover, David Blakely, justifying why she shot him dead. Making no attempt to atone, her aim is to have her say. For once. Driven to the brink by Blakely’s infidelities and abuse, by the time Ellis pulled the trigger, she had been humiliated and beaten for the last time and took the ultimate revenge.

‘Hottest show in town…triumph…spellbinding’ Ventnor Fringe

‘Watch Joan Ellis. She’s really quite the writer’ Clapham Fringe

‘Fascinating theatre…convincing and beautifully contrasted, subtly observed.’ Frome

‘Well-written, brilliantly-acted, moving – and rather chilling. Ingenious use of lighting to create two very different settings.’ Faversham Fringe 2018

Clapham Fringe ‘Top Picks/Shows to See’