EDINBURGH 2019 Review: MY DARLING CLEMMIE, Assembly, Drawing Room

Written by Hugh Whitemore and performed by Rohan Mccullough, My Darling Clemmie is a one-woman play telling the story of Clementine Hozier's life with Winston Churchill.

The play opens with a beautiful yet simple set of a desk and armchair in a grand venue. We meet Clementine who takes us through her "not unhappy" childhood and sometimes difficult relationship with her eccentric mother.

McCullough plays Clementine with a perfect balance of strong yet vulnerable. Her pace is exemplary, and we identify with her many challenges and triumphs through her courtship and lifetime. We learn of her difficulty with motherhood, and her much-admired voluntary charity work. A haunting tale of near kidnap by her father, and the pressures in exerted by her aunt, Lady St Helier, endear Clementine to us.

Tales of Churchill's politics are explained as Clementine's only true rival in her lifetime. Historical letters are read aloud, and there are also some heart-wrenching personal losses. Their marriage was extremely admired, though Clementine also frankly describes Winston as incredibly trying - "He never does anything, he doesn't want to do".

My Darling Clemmie offers insight into an extraordinary woman who played a major role in the life of Winston Churchill.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/my-darling-clemmie

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