Showing @ Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 2 Apr

It’s the case with all theatre, but whenever we see a biographical play, we have to ask ourselves more analytically: is it needed? With Sue Glover’s new play Marilyn, the portrait of an icon and the depiction of a misunderstood intellectual are all palpable, but there appears to be little in the way of cultural deconstruction. Director Philip Howard’s sexed-up production is a glamorous, aesthetic seduction, only just lacking in that essential critical punch.

While staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel as filming of Let’s Make Love gets underway, Marilyn Monroe, sexily captured by the magnetic Frances Thorburn, acquaints herself with actress Simone Signoret (Dominique Hollier). As Monroe’s on-set admiration for Signoret’s husband Yves Montand grows, the pair’s uneasy friendship soon drifts astray. And as their differences (Signoret’s confidence and Monroe’s insecurity) soon collide into similarity, the relationship spirals into celebrity bitchiness, seething jealousy and vicious confrontation.

In many ways, this is a play about absences. From the non-appearance of the husbands to that elusive Oscar victory, the offstage action commands a sense of Utopian achievement which neither Monroe nor Signoret will ever attain (at least internally). Kenny Miller’s design with its polished, silky furniture and wall of mirrors reflects Monroe’s self-awareness back in on itself. And so Glover plays around with this blurring of perception quite intriguingly; how far does our own individualism control our actions and how far do the expectations imposed on us instill a sense of unattainable success? Yet the play rests too heavily on the crutch of Monroe’s prominent iconography. The public perception of her as a “blonde bombshell” contrasting that of a frail, tortured girl striving for perfection is an empty sentiment, as countless Monroe biographies have graphed her externalised personality. And it’s a shame as Glover buys herself space to probe the flowery notion of the celebrity icon, which has been constructed out of weak timber for decades. Instead, we’re left with exquisite performances from both Thorburn and Hollier, but ultimately a heap of information we’ve seen wrapped up and produced for years.