The Cherry Moon

The Old Cinema, University of Westminster. 3rd February 2009.

A rehearsed reading of The Cherry Moon, presented by Celia Imrie (Calendar Girls, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Acorn Antiques) and directed by Sir Richard Eyre (Iris, Notes on a Scandal). The cast also featured HughBonneville, Julia Ford, Robin Soans and Jim Broadbent. Tickets for the reading were free, with donations on the evening supporting the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.

Theatrical rarity The Cherry Moon was written by Dorothy Lang, and formed part of a work of nine plays. Written about 1960, the reading marked the first public performance of the play. Taking place entirely in a central London flat, the story is of Christopher, who suffers from a degenerative brain condition, and his complex and intense relationship with his sister, and the effect his dependence on her has on her engagement

The new performance took place on 3rd February, marking the twentieth anniversary of Dorothy Lang’s death. Celia Imrie was motivated to stage the reading to respect the wishes of her friend, and Dorothy’s husband, the writer Ralph Hammond Innes, who had been seeking a public performance of his wife’s play for many years.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust’s Development Director, Dr Marie Janson, said: “It’s fitting that the performance of The Cherry Moon will support our world-class research into dementia, twenty years after we lost Dorothy Lang to the devastating condition. Celia Imrie has worked tirelessly to stage the reading which will be a fitting tribute to Dorothy, as well as helping provide hope to the 700,000 people across the UK that have dementia.”