Jeff Thompson’s intimate play enjoining the remains of child stardom and the hunger of the media to pick over its bones is the second in a series of new plays lovingly conceived at Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre.

We’re transported sure-footedly from the characterful clutter of long-obscured (fictional but representative) child star Mabel Menzie’s home to the sterile offices of a documentary team more interested in sensation and syndication than the truth of her life as she prefers to remember it.

Fortunately, the ensuing power struggle just about avoids becoming entrenched in the overdrawn battle-lines of art versus commerce.

The cast take much of the credit – especially the double-act of former star Mabel (Elizabeth Counsell) and long-term carer Ron (a steely June Watson). Jos Vantyler’s Lenny proves a believable chameleon – both doe-eyed admirer and spoiled media brat. The other hacks, pushing ever harder for a scoop, are painted too broadly to function as characters, but certainly gee the plot along.

The evening ends in laughter and tears (in reverse order) as a delectable twist suggests a seasoned performer is more than a match for a common-or-garden muck-raker.

Claude Saint-Cloud