The image which springs to mind when thinking of Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe is usually of a beautiful blonde bombshell.

But there’s an element of the clown about her, says actress and former comic entertainer Lizzie Wort who plays the star in a one-woman show about Marilyn’s life off-screen.

“She did have that comedic element to her – she was a brilliant clown,“ says the mother-of-one, who was invited to play the star by St Albans playwright Elton Townend Jones.

“It is a very funny show, obviously it’s got a lot of tragedy in it, but she’s very savvy and sharp.“

The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe, written and directed by Elton, considers the legendary performer in a new light, delving into her private struggles leading up to her death in 1962.

However, Lizzie admits she had previously paid little attention to Marilyn’s career before she took on the part in the St Albans-based Dyad Productions’ show, but now has a new-found respect for the actress.

“I had written her off, I really wasn’t very interested,“ says the trained ballet dancer.

She continues: “I had always thought she was kind of fun and frivolous. One of the things I really loved about this was to see how brilliant an actress she was. It has been really wonderful to discover her and fall in love with her. I’m a big fan now.“

And Lizzie is not just a big fan – she has found similarities between herself and the star, which makes the show personal to her.

“I think the struggles of getting out and putting on a show no matter how you might be feeling, I really relate to that side of it for her. It’s a running joke that I have with Elton where I go: ’It’s me’. I think that’s very much down to Elton’s writing because he has written her as an everywoman.

“It’s very raw and it’s very moving for me to do, and I do find it draining. I care very deeply about her, which sounds so silly, but I’m very protective of her. So although it’s hard, it’s not really hard until I come off stage and collapse in a big heap.“

Although the show deals with the darker side of the legendary screen star, it is not preoccupied by her demise and strives to honour her life.

The former Bretton Hall student says: “I think we decided that her whole life had been clouded by her death and we weren’t interested in her death. We were interested in who she was when she was alive and to celebrate her life.“

Broxbourne Civic Hall, High St, Hoddesdon, Saturday, March 14, 7.30pm. Details: 01992 441946, broxbourne.gov.uk