The Leigh-ding lady's play

The turbulent life of screen legend Vivien Leigh is to be recreated in a play at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

The show, Vivien Leigh ? The Last Press Conference, charts her rise to success and subsequent tumble into manic depression and madness in a one-woman play critically acclaimed in Los Angeles and Edinburgh.

The author and star of the show, Marcy Lafferty, has been a fan of Leigh for years. Until now, Lafferty has been known for film appearances in Star Trek ? The Motion Picture and Airplane 2, and for her 19-year marriage to actor William Shatner until their divorce in the late 1990s.

Although she never met Leigh or her husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, Lafferty claims to have read practically everything written about the actress who she says viewed Sir Laurence as an "acting god".

She said: "This is the story of the complete disintegration of a human being and is an interesting study of the manic depression behind Vivien?s great wit and humanity. Her story is a compelling one; an obscure British actress who lands the greatest part written for a woman against all of the Hollywood actresses and does a fabulous job in Gone With The Wind."

Leigh, won an Oscar for her performance as Scarlett O?Hara in the Civil War epic and Lafferty, 55, says a section of the play is dedicated to the film. The play opens tomorrow and runs until 22 September.