Former Bond girl Maryam d'Abo is starring in 'Spanish Oranges', a play by Alba Arikha about artistic creation and the price of fame in married life. The play follows a celebrated writer accused of stealing a story, while her actor husband faces cancellation after allegations of violence. D'Abo, who played cellist and would-be sniper Kara Milovy in 1987's 'The Living Daylights', says she has no regrets about her time in the Bond franchise, despite the intense press scrutiny she faced.
Reflecting on her Bond experience, d'Abo recalls the Fleet Street journalists of the era as 'harsher and more judgmental'. She admits to a lack of confidence after the film, but insists: 'I'm not blaming Bond for screwing up my career. I'll never regret it.' She produced a 2002 documentary, 'Bond Girls Are Forever', which examined the evolution of female roles in the series, from the 1960s to more empowered portrayals.
Playwright Alba Arikha, a novelist making her professional playwriting debut, drew inspiration from Edward Albee and Ingmar Bergman. The play explores the imbalance between a writer on the brink of fame and her husband about to sink, asking what it takes from family life to be an artist, especially for mothers. Arikha, whose godfather was Samuel Beckett, says she loves 'writing about dysfunctional families because of the complexities and all that's unsaid'.
D'Abo, who is English but spent part of her childhood in Paris, says she might have built a theatre career in France had she not stayed in Los Angeles. She found common ground with Arikha, a friend of many decades, in their Parisian backgrounds. 'Spanish Oranges' runs in London, blending reality and fiction in a story that questions the nature of artistic theft and the price of success.
