Playwright Finds Inspiration in Real-Life Tale of Two Women

Laura Shamas is just wild about the Ladies of Llangollen.

“These women were famous for being friends,” said the playwright, whose “Lady-Like” at the Court Theatre explores the 51-year relationship of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, who set up house in Llangollen, Wales, in 1779, and lived together until Butler’s death in 1829. Early on, the pair drew public curiosity: Wordsworth, Colette and Simone de Beauvoir wrote about them; their home, Plas Newydd, is a National Trust property and receives hundreds of visitors yearly.

Shamas, 34, first read about “The Ladies” in 1986; later that year, she was awarded a research grant and traveled to Oxford--where their letters are held--and to Ireland and Wales to study her subjects.

“I just fell in love with their story,” said the writer, who has written 15 plays and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Colorado. “I also see them as archetypes. In our society today, especially living in L. A., there’s a lot of isolation: We’re isolated in our cars, we don’t have a lot of interaction on the street, we don’t have as strong a sense of community as we might. That’s why these women are especially fascinating. People flocked to them because they were so good at friendship.”

The duo’s unconventional arrangement was born of emotional necessity. Chafing under societal and familial pressures, the young women fled Ireland with Ponsonby’s maid, Mary Carryll, eventually settling in Llangollen. Although Shamas shies away from direct references to Butler’s and Ponsonby’s sexuality, they did share a bed--”and it was a very small bed,” the writer said. “I don’t back off from it; it just wasn’t my main focus. I’m interested in the romantic love between them, the whole idea of closeness and intimacy. I didn’t want to trivialize that.”

Shamas credits director Jules Aaron (“Treasure Hunt” and “De Donde?”) as being “extraordinarily helpful” to the play’s development. “From Day 1, I knew Laura and I were talking about the same story, the same vision,” Aaron said. “It’s poetic; it captures three people with a language and humanity I find very moving. Also, it’s an untold adventure story. And it’s the kind of play I like best: very affirming of the human condition. I believe in the possibility of long-lasting relationships, that people can move and grow together.”

Even with the play on its feet now, Shamas stays connected to the work. “I love to rewrite; I love to work on things,” said the playwright, whose “Telling Time” and “Delicacies” played locally last year. “So doing four drafts on this was a wonderful experience. And since it’s a world premiere, I go all the time--maybe three times a week--because I’m still learning about it. As a playwright, you watch the house: what people are reacting to, where they’re the most moved.”

Born in Stillwater, Okla., Shamas moved often as a child--to Kansas, Ohio, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Although she excelled in writing, winning essay awards and spelling bees, her mother and uncle were actors, and the attraction to the stage was forged early on. “I always enjoyed acting, but I wasn’t that great,” Shamas said. To graduate as a theater major at UCLA, she had to write a play. “I’d been looking forward to that requirement,” she said brightly. “Afterward, I took every play-writing class I could.”

Now she teaches them. In addition to leading a weekly play-writing workshop at West Coast Ensemble, Shamas is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine, teaching English, play writing and creative writing. She’s just finished a screenplay, a “comedy fantasy”--and this fall, her play-writing textbook will be published.

“We’re an incredibly illiterate society,” she said sadly. “So it’s almost a mission for me, a self-preservation thing. I love writing, and I don’t want us as human beings to lose that connection to each other.”

“Lady-Like” plays at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays at the Court Theatre, 722 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, through June 2. Tickets: $10-$20. (213) 466-1767.