Dame Angela Lansbury said “the circle is complete” as she made a triumphant return to the West End stage after nearly 40 years — in the theatre where her mother made her debut.
The Murder, She Wrote star wowed critics and punters alike last night as clairvoyant Madame Arcati in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit at the Gielgud Theatre, where her mother, Moyna Macgill, appeared nearly a century ago.
It is her first London appearance since playing Hamlet’s mother at the National in 1975.
She said the official first night guests were “tremendously enthusiastic”.
At the post-show party at the Rosewood Hotel, in Holborn, the 88-year-old star said she would “never rule out” making more appearances in the city of her birth.
“There’s so much history in London,” she said. “My mother and sister, we’ve all acted on the boards here and I’m working in the theatre where my mother made her debut when she was 17.”
Blithe Spirit is the professional stage debut of Patsy Ferran, 24, who is still studying at RADA in London.
Of Lansbury, she said: “She has been so moving and inspiring — and she’s quite cheeky and naughty.”
