For Peter Briffa’s new show, It Happened To Me, a bit of Hollywood heads to London as part of the Camden Fringe.
“In 1962 Frank Sinatra was his best buddy, Marilyn Monroe his best girl, and his brother in law was none other than the President.
21 years later Peter Lawford was an alcoholic, thrice-married recluse. No more Hollywood, no more game shows.
Now he sits alone on Christmas Eve in the Betty Ford Centre, with only a plastic capsule of cocaine, smuggled in via his backside, for company.
Where did it all go wrong?”
Where: Upstairs at the Gatehouse
When: 6-9 Aug
Ticket link: https://camdenfringe.com/events/it-happened-to-me/
Why Peter Lawford and why now?
I’m not sure I actually knew who he was until I read a tweet by Ray Connolly mentioning him.
It triggered my interest, and I started planning a play about Robert Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, May Pang, all of whom, at different times, stayed at Peter Lawford’s Santa Monica beach house.
I read a lot about the first four, and then the only biography of Peter Lawford and thought, that’s enough! What a crazy life! I don’t need the others.
Best friends with Marilyn and Sinatra, and married into the Kennedy family. Yet he’s barely remembered.
Why now? It’s a timeless tale. Child abuse, endless sex, endless drink and drugs. So many people he knew died early, through suicide or murder. And it all ends in his misery.
His life really spells out to me how dangerous fame is. Virtually everyone in the story comes across as warped by it. The politicians as well as the actors.
Why do you think some Hollywood actors are remembered and revered, while others are forgotten?
I think it does depend on the end product. Lawford was a really good actor. He could play baddies and goodies, he was very handsome, and had a good, instantly recognisable voice. But he just didn’t make enough good films.
What should audiences expect who come along to your show?
They should expect a fascinating story, that is both funny and sad. It isn’t just a biography, it does have a tale to tell.
On the face of it, Peter Lawford must often have been a very difficult person to know, but I like to think by the end the audience will get a feeling of what made him tick, and somehow get to like him.
What are you looking forward to the most in Camden?
This is my fourth production at the Camden Fringe, and it’s eight years since the last time. Too long! The camaraderie, the not quite knowing what is going to happen, is all part of the fun,
It could be very competitive, with everyone wanting to get ahead of everyone else, in terms of bigger audiences and better reviews, but I’ve never really felt that.
What’s next for you and the show?
It’s a one person show, with a fairly simple set. The hope is that this isn’t a one off, and we get a transfer. I guess that’s what most everyone wants.
It’s happened once to me, when we got a three week run at the Old Red Lion in the autumn, so it can happen. I know!