Fiona Knowles plays an exhausting three different characters in her one-woman show, Women Behaving Madly coming to Darwen on October 6.

But the 60-year-old, who has been touring in different one-woman plays for nearly two decades, says she isn’t ready to give up her stage career yet.

For each of the past 18 years she has taken on a gigantic 100-day tour and is only just starting to slow down.

The Edinburgh-based performer said: “I love my job, I couldn’t ever imagine being able to do this when I was younger, it’s beyond my wildest dreams.

“I’m now doing around 70 shows a tour to give myself a bit of a break.

"Although it is still pretty exhausting I’m not ready to give up yet.

“As long as people still want to see my shows and I am still able to do them I will continue.”

The show which is coming to Darwen Library was written by playwright Rona Munro, who has written all the plays Fiona has performed for the past 18 years.

It is based around a woman called Old Lady Bella who kills people that annoy her and buries them in her garden.

Fiona plays all the characters in the hour and a half long show ranging from mad Old Lady Bella, to a care worker and a client of the care worker.

The actress who is now a veteran of the ‘one woman show’ genre says she loves being able to play several roles in one show.

She is required to flit back and forth between characters using props and different voices to differentiate between them.

“It’s great to be able to be so diverse. I’m used to it now so it isn’t confusing for me and hopefully it isn’t for the audience.

"I have a few different things that I add to my costumes like anoraks and hats.

“The voices I use change from that of an old woman for Bella to a deep voice for the client.”

Fiona started out in radio plays when she was at school before turning her hand to drama teaching.

She returned to the stage when she was in her thirties and has been in plays since.

Fiona added: “I can’t wait to come back to Darwen, the audiences are smashing, they really seem to understand the humour.

“The theatre is fantastic as well, we have been coming for ten years this year, I’m looking forward to being back on the stage on Wednesday.”

* Women Behaving Madly is on at Darwen Library Theatre on Wednesday, October 6 at 7.30pm. To book call the Box Office on 01254 706 006.