Playwright Tilda Ransome goes to all sorts of lengths to find the truth of her subject of her biographical plays. What if the truth destroys lives?
Renowned Australian biographical playwright Tilda Ransome is summoned to The Strident Theatre in London and commissioned to create a play celebrating its Artistic Director, who also happens to be her long-standing friend and mentor, Lewis Stanton. At first, researching her favourite person is a delight. Dames, movie stars and eminent feminist playwrights owe their glittering careers to Lewis. She dismisses the rumour that Lewis black-listed an actress, with whom he had an affair, as jealous gossip. Yet more rumours of sexual misconduct reach her. She gate-crashes a workplace investigation meeting. Lewis’s lawyers will compensate three women on their signing Non-Disclosure Agreements. She goes undercover to discover that the unbelievable allegations ring true.
A biographical playwright needs, above all, to have compelling insight into her main character, and Tilda has been known to be fearless to get to the truth of her subject: but as she uncovers more disturbing evidence, Tilda realises that the truth in her play on Lewis will wreck careers, including perhaps her own. In the final scene, Lewis returns from his forced leave. An afternoon of confrontation, denial and uneasy truce culminates in a night where both Lewis and Tilda are in a fight for their lives.