Fresh off her 1961 Academy Awards triumph and a recent brush with death, Elizabeth Taylor is struggling with her hardest role yet: herself. An intimate look at the movie star's early life, career, and loves, as she grapples with the culture of celebrity and her place as Hollywood's brightest star.

Written and performed by Kayla Boye, it is clear that there is a strong interest by the author in her subject. From her look (she resembles the star down to a tee) to her portrayal of the icon, which is told from the heart, not just from the words.

With direction by Michael Weber, this is a one-woman piece where the audience becomes her biographer, Max Lerner. As we here her inner most thoughts and feelings, some we can't print, we start to understand the woman behind Elizabeth Taylor.

It's a heartfelt, embodiment of an icon.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Rachel Louise Martin

Call Me Elizabeth plays in the Haldane Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall at 11.05am until 26 August.