The Tilbourne Players will be paying tribute to Dame Maggie Smith when they perform Peter Shaffer’s riotous comedy Lettice and Lovage at the Tilford Institute from March 26 to 28.

Lettice and Lovage was written in 1987 as a vehicle for Maggie Smith, and she played the title role of flamboyant tour guide Lettice Douffet to great acclaim, winning the Tony award for Best Actress in 1990.

In a production directed by Ian Wilson-Soppitt, Lettice’s love of history and the theatre - together with a vivid imagination - sees her embellish the story behind an English country house, Fustian House, infuriating its stoic and conventional steward Lotte Schoen from the Preservation Trust.

Rena Bassar, who is publicising the play on behalf of the Tilbourne Players, said: “I know I am not alone in remembering Maggie Smith with great affection and enormous respect for her talent.

“Since I first saw her in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I have been a lifelong admirer. There seems to have been little in the way of retrospectives and homages to her, which is puzzling, so I was delighted to learn that Tilbourne Players are putting on three performances of Lettice and Lovage.

“I was never fortunate enough to see her on stage, but Ian Wilson-Soppitt saw her in Lettice and Lovage in 1988. When she died in September 2024, he decided he would pay his tribute to her by putting on this marvellous but rarely performed play.

“Tilbourne Players, with their usual creativity and willingness to rise to a challenge, happily took on the job of making it work in the small but charming Tilford Institute.”

Embracing the task of filling Dame Maggie’s shoes is the director’s wife, Sara Wilson-Soppitt.

She said: “My husband Ian saw her in the play in the late 1980s and was a huge admirer of her. It became the play that really made her name - it ran in London for years and then transferred to New York.

“He said he wanted to do a tribute to her in one of her greatest roles. It’s a marvellous play - it’s quite challenging but we’re making a good fist of it. We’ve really admired her throughout her career.

“Many people know her from Downton Abbey, and also The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which is a fantastic film. As a stage actress she was brilliant, and she was a fantastic comedienne. She was one of the great British dames, alongside Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins.”

Lotte Schoen will be played by Jane Quicke, alongside Lotte’s secretary Miss Framer (Viv Raeside) and solicitor Mr Bardolph (Tony Rivers).

Sara said: “Rehearsals are going really well. We have our costumes and they’re pretty good. We have almost got all of our props. But one thing we need to find is an execution block. You’ll discover what that’s for on the night!”

There will be performances on March 26 and 27 at 7.30pm, and on March 28 at 2pm. For tickets, priced £14 - which includes a programme - visit www.tilbourneplayers.org.uk