Silver Lining, Paperback

How unbelievably dull my life was. I did everything I was supposed to. I was such a good girl. I lived in the house he chose and cleaned a dead woman's furniture. I bought hats, who the hell wears a hat? And all the time I wanted to scream because I was so bored.

On one dark and stormy night in the upper day room of the Silver Retirement Home, five elderly women are trading stories of their remarkable (or sometimes unremarkable) lives. With the storm floods rising and no rescue team in sight, the ladies are faced with the sudden realisation that in order to survive they are going to have to do what they have done for their entire lives - do it themselves!

Silver Lining is a hilarious comedy by Sandi Toksvig. It tells the tale of a group of extraordinary yet forgotten women, who come together one treacherous night to recreate The Great Escape - senior-citizen style.

It received its world premiere at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, on 3 February 2017 in a production by English Touring Theatre and Rose Theatre, Kingston.

About author(s):Sandi Toksvig - a prolific comedian, writer, performer and presenter - is one of Britain's most beloved personalities working across television, theatre and radio today. Renowned for her sharp mind and witty quips, Toksvig has enjoyed a successful career in radio, appearing on BBC Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and chairing The News Quiz from 2006 until 2015. In television, she is a popular comedy panellist and has frequently featured in programmes such as Whose Line is it Anyway?, Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week. In 2016 Toksvig replaced Stephen Fry as host on the BBC's eccentric quiz show QI, making history by becoming the first female chair of a primetime comedy panel. Toksvig is also a respected writer and has created a diverse range shows for the stage. She has deconstructed Shakespeare with The Pocket Dream (1991, co-written with Elly Brewer) and penned the musical Big Night Out at the Little Palace Theatre (2002, music and lyrics by Dilly Keane). In 2012, Toksvig's play Bully Boy opened at the St James Theatre to critical acclaim. Her latest play, Silver Linings, premiered at the Rose Theatre Kingston in February 2017.