Julia Lambert is in her prime, the greatest actress in England. On stage she is a true professional, in full possession of her emotions. Off stage, however, she is bored with her husband, less disciplined about her behaviour. She is at first amused by the attentions of a shy but ambitious young fan, then thrilled by his persistence — and at last wildly but dangerously in love. Although Maugham is most celebrated as a novelist and short-story writer, it was as a playwright that he first knew success. Theatre is both a tribute to a world from which he had retired and a persuasive testimony to his enthusiasm for drama and the stage.

Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham is the basis of Being Juli a, a major worldwide movie release in October 2004 starring Annette Benning and Jeremy Irons.

About the movie: Being Julia is a delicious tale of amorous folly and revenge set in the world of the London stage in the late 1930’s. It is the story of reigning stage diva Julia Lambert (played by Annette Benning in a tour-de-force performance) who falls head over heels in love with a young American. When she realizes that he is just a young social climber whose real passion is ambitious starlet Avice Crichton, Julia begins to plot a delightful revenge. Being Julia is at once playful, sexy and viciously satisfying. Jeremy Irons, Bruce Greenwood and Maury Chaykin also star.