Brighton playwright Gail Louw’s name has become closely associated with quality in the Brighton Fringe.

And Miss Dietrich Regrets follows in the footsteps of her 2012 Argus Angel-winning Blonde Poison and last year’s Brighton Fringe Best New Play Duwayne.

Marlene Dietrich was once the most glamorous of all film icons, moving from the German cabarets and cinema of the Weimar Republic to Hollywood royalty.

But as the 1980s roll around the star, played by Blonde Poison’s Elizabeth Counsell, is living in a filthy hotel bed, cooking on a hot plate and reliant on a starstruck concierge to deal with her ablutions. She has been trapped by her most famous assets, her legs, which have finally given way.

Rather than using a monologue her story is told through phone calls to the great and good – including US President Ronald Reagan - and her interaction with her long-suffering daughter Maria, Moira Brooker, who turns up on a visit.

Anyone who has had to deal with a strong-willed elderly parent or grandparent will recognise Dietrich’s use of emotional blackmail on her daughter, while stubbornly never giving an inch about making her own life easier – fearful of how the fans would react to their star in a care home.

Through stories and memories the pair explore a relationship which was always difficult, as Dietrich lived the life of a star, little caring about anyone else.

Four stars