An engaging evening of storytelling brings the brilliant intellect and incomparable grace of icon Hedy Lamarr to the stage
Written and performed by Heather Massie, this interactive one-woman show explores the legacy of the iconic film star and inventor Hedy Lamarr, as her contributions to the modern technological world have largely been overlooked. Massie aims to encourage young women to follow in Hedy’s footsteps and pursue careers in science and technology, emphasising that brains and beauty are not mutually exclusive.
Massie is a gifted storyteller, with a warm and graceful stage presence. Over the course of the evening, she traces Hedy’s life from her early childhood, as her father encourages her curious mind, to her eventual escape from Austria and an abusive husband on the brink of World War II, and her eventual Hollywood stardom. She populates Hedy’s world with a wide range of supporting characters, brought to life by a colourful palette of voices and physicality. With projections designed by Jim Marlowe and Charley Marlowe, technical direction by Dan Leary, and sound design by Jacob Subotnick and Andy Evan Cohen, the glamorous world of Golden Age films provides a cinematic and dramatic backdrop to Massie’s storytelling.
With her own interdisciplinary background in astrophysics and theatre, Massie is perfectly suited to tackle both Hedy’s success as an actress and her invention of frequency hopping technology which helped advance the United States’ torpedo technology during WWII and which laid the groundwork for a vast majority of modern infrastructure like WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth. Having brought this show to dozens of countries across the world so far, Massie tells stories with ease and a twinkle in her eye, and sends audiences away eager to learn more about Lamarr’s brilliant mind.
Hedy! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr is running until 13 July at the Barons Court Theatre. Look out for future performances of this show in other venues, and Heather Massie’s next project centring on astronaut Sally Ride.