Empire film magazine crowned Marilyn Monroe the ‘Sexiest Female Movie Star of all Time’, while People magazine voted her the 'Sexiest Woman of the Century'. But what was beyond the public image and the pretty face?

Now the life and thoughts of the troubled screen goddess is coming to Edinburgh in An Actress Prepares, a surprising and revealing adaptation of Marilyn Monroe's last ever interview, for the first time ever making its appearance on stage.

On 17th August 1962 LIFE magazine published “Last Talk with a Lonely Girl”. 36 years old, divorced for the third time and now living alone, frustrated by Hollywood and tired of the label ‘sex symbol’, the final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with.

In An Actress Prepares, Marilyn reflects on her silver screen persona and exaltation to one of the most celebrated idols of her time, while freely admitting to never knowing happiness. Candid and contemplative, and with her untimely death shortly after, this was to become her ultimate interview.

“I guess I always had too much fantasy to be only a housewife” - Marilyn Monroe.