17 – 21 March

Our apparently inexhaustible interest in the salacious and tragic details of the rich and famous makes an evening of reminiscences by one of Hollywood’s enigmas, Doris Day, a mouthwatering prospect. Her wholesome and happy public image belied the reality of domestic abuse, medical difficulties and a sequence of failed marriages. In this play by Bruce Fellows, Doris (Kate McNab) is having a clear out of memorabilia in preparation for an auction in aid of her dog charity. Having his sympathetic ear bent in the process is the latest of her admirers, Barry (Mike Akers).

One of the great qualities of Bristol’s popular chanteuse is the ease with which she slides easily into a song. That Kate McNab loves to sing is evident. Each of the famous Doris Day numbers she performs is done with obvious relish and joy, from the powerful rendition of ‘Secret Love’, to the nuanced romanticism of, ‘Sentimental Journey’. The intimate space of The Alma theatre allows an un-mic’d voice such as Kate McNab’s a subtlety and flexibility that conveys the singer’s vocal character in a way that is often lost by the mediation of technology. Similarly Miss McNab seems at times to be chatting to the audience in the intimacy of her own living room as she relives some painful memories.

The onstage piano playing of Ben Jenkins, gives a kind of cabaret feel to the show, which unfolds chronologically in a series of thumbnail sketches involving some of the prominent men in Doris’s life. Perhaps the best commendation of a biography such as this is that it makes one keen to see the work of the subject in the new light of how their talent was forged.

Graham Wyles 18 March 2026