FOR decades during the 20th century, Cecil Beaton chronicled the lives and fashions of the world’s most beautiful and famous people. He also kept diaries and these extraordinary documents provide the content for actor Richard Stirling who brings his acclaimed one-man show to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Thursday 22nd February.

It is a peep behind the scenes into the mind and life of the man who photographed everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to Churchill, and who famously won an Oscar for his costume designs for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

While Beaton’s photographs showed his versatility, his diaries exposed the cost. Blisteringly funny, with appearances ranging from the Queen Mother to Truman Capote, the diaries paint a self-portrait of the 20th century’s most compelling dandy.

Photograph by Gareth McLeod