ONE major famous and talented star of the stage is playing another with fewer strings to her bow in a new show touring locallly.

Maureen Lipman, a household name for her TV, stage and column-writing successes, is starring in Glorious, a new comedy by Peter Quilter, another production which has chosen Malvern as a venue for its short warm-up pre-West End tour.

Lipman plays the lead in the true story about a New York star from the 1940s - Florence Foster Jenkins - 'an enthusiastic soprano who couldn't hit a note with a sledgehammer'.

"People may say that I cannot sing, but no-one can say that I did not sing" is one of the infamous diva's famous statements.

She was known as the first lady of the sliding scale and was the performer New York audiences demanded to see, leaving them often falling about with laughter as she tackled the classics.

"But this delusional and joyously happy woman paid little attention to her critics," added theatre spokeswoman Louise Russell. "Instead, she was surrounded by a circle of devoted friends who were almost as eccentric as she was.

"This heart-warming comedy charts Florence's career from charity recitals and extravagant balls, through her bizarre recording sessions and an ultimate sell-out triumph at Carnegie Hall."

Maureen Lipman will be known to most people as one of the nation's top comedy character actors.

Recent highlights of her long career include the one-woman show Re-Joyce!, the tribute to Lipman's heroine Joyce Grenfell which ran for three seasons in the West End, and her performance as Aunt Eller in the National Theatre's Oklahoma!

She was last seen at Malvern in Peggy for You in 2000 and this time, she returns heading a cast of six, also including Janie Booth, Barrie Ingham, Josie Kidd, William Oxberrow and Lilo Susi.

Glorious! Runs from Monday, September 26, to Saturday, October 1. Contact the Malvern Theatres box office on 01684 892277 or log on to www.malvern-theatres.co.uk to snap up a ticket.