One of the monologues from the stage version of Alan Bennett Talking Heads, A Woman of No Importance is the wryly funny story of Peggy Schofield (Miss) whose life is upset by a mystery illness. At work, bedevilled by Mr Slattery and the Squash Ladder, baffled by the tendency of her usual lunchtime companions to sit at other tables and chastely flirtatious with her boss, Peggy has carved herself a comfortable niche. Once in hospital, she loses no time in establishing herself as Queen Bee, taking over the distribution of newspapers, chatting for hours to the unresponsive Mrs Boothman and lobbying for Mrs Maudsley to get her toenails cut. Persistently cheerful, blind to feelings of others and, at heart, terribly lonely, Peggy is at once a richly comic and desperately moving creation, providing a rewarding challenge for a mature actress.

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