A Daughter's A Daughter
An intense personal drama of family ties in two acts
2 hours 45 minutes
9
Synopsis
The love between a mother and daughter turns to jealousy and bitterness in this intense and personal drama.
Ann Prentice falls in love with Richard Caulfield and hopes for a new life and happiness. Only her daughter, Sarah, takes an instant jealous dislike to him.
Resentment slowly corrodes their relationship as each seeks comfort in the formidable and knowing Dame Laura Whitstable who remarks, “the trouble with sacrifice is that once its made its not over and done with.
Play information
Location
The play takes place in a red brick Victorian mansion block, near Sloane Square, London.
Running time
2 hours 45 minutes
Character list
- Number of male characters: 4
- Number of female characters: 5
- Edith
- Ann Prentice
- Richard Cauldfield
- Dame Laura Whitstable
- Sarah Prentice
- Jerry Lloyd
- Lawrence Steene
- Basil Mowbray
- Doris Cauldfield
More about this play
The play, whose writing predates that of the novel of the same name, premiered on 9th July 1956, at the Theatre Royal, Bath. It was billed under the name Westmacott - the pseudonym under which Christie also wrote 6 semi-autobiographical novels exploring human psychology in greater depth and offering a fascinating insight into Christie’s relationships with her family. Her daughter Rosalind Hicks describes the books as “bitter-sweet stories about love”.
Christie is beady-eyed and brutally honest on the psychology of the mother-daughter relationship.
Additional information
Part of the live radio triple bill Murder on Air which also includes Butter in a Lordly Dish and Personal Call.
