Houses are not like marriages ... one cannot just walk out and leave them
– Daphne du Maurier
Menabilly is a house with a past, but seemingly no future. Hidden away from prying eyes on a Cornish peninsula, Mena's been abandoned by its owners and left to rot. It's hurting and lonely, and embarrassed by its shabby appearance.
But everything changes when a young Daphne du Maurier seeks out Menabilly and is instantly entranced ...
Listen to the play
Daphne du Maurier invested money and love in Menabilly – an illustrious Cornish house she could rent but never own.
Love for Menabilly explores a possible explanation for Daphne’s obsessive devotion to Menabilly: that a house has its own emotions and desires that bond with and influence those of its human occupant.
The play is set in the 1960s, but the action flashes back to key scenes in Daphne's relationship with Menabilly and with her husband, Tommy.
Photo credit © Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans Picture Library
Credits
Daphne ….. JULIA SAVILL
Menabilly ….. JANE McKELL
Tommy ….. RUSSELL BILES
Tessa ….. ELLIE BROOKS
Tommy’s mistress ….. TANYA ALEXANDER
Lord Evans ….. LEE TILSON
Other parts played by members of the cast
Written and produced by JO-ANN CHALLIS
Sound design and mix by STEVE RAFTER
I'm a huge fan of radio and audio plays. Love for Menabilly is the second audio play I've written and produced. It was recorded at Bournemouth University and post-produced at BOMO Audio.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact me.
You can listen to my other play, The Last Nuns, here.
If you'd like to read about Daphne du Maurier, her family and their life at Menabilly, I recommend these books:
Margaret Forster, Daphne du Maurier (Arrow, 1994)
Flavia Leng, Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's Memoir
(Mainstream Publishing, 1994)