In the 1960s Mary O'Malley studied drama at the City Literary Institute, and "Improvisation and Playmaking" with Dorothea Alexander.
The play, directed by Mike Ockrent, opened at the Royal Court in 1977 and later transferred to Wyndham's Theatre, where it ran for over two years.
There have been productions in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and Belgium, and in 1991 in Opole, Poland, at the Jan Kochanowski Theatre.
Set in a psychiatric hospital, it is an ensemble piece for fourteen actors, one of whom was Maxine Audley who received a London Critics Award for her performance as Olive, a clairvoyant.
Other work includes On the Shelf for television (1984) produced by Margaret Matheson, and Talk of the Devil at the Watford Playhouse (1986) directed by Bill Alexander.