A monologue about the Irish poet William Butler Yeats is set to open at Epsom Playhouse next week.

Yeats and Maud Gonne, which opens on September 12, is a one-man show which features Colin Pinney portraying the great poet.

The monologue focuses on Yeats' obsession with his then muse Maud Gonne, a woman he described as a "proud woman not kindred of his soul" and "a fiery spirit ahead of her time".

The pair were irreconcilable and passionate figures: Ireland's greatest poet and the revolutionary Maud, who portrayed Cathleen Ni Houlihan, the spirit of Ireland, in Yeats' famous play of the same name.

Many of Yeats's poems are inspired by her, or mention her, such as This, This Rude Knocking.

He also wrote the plays The Countess Cathleen and Cathleen Ní Houlihan for Maud.

Few poets have celebrated a woman's beauty to the extent Yeats did in his lyric and verse about his muse.

The monologue contains extracts from Maud's book - A servant of the Queen - which are used by permission of Colin Smythe Ltd on behalf of the Maud Gonne estate.

Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 5A; September 12, 2.30pm; tickets £6, 01372 742555 or epsomplayhouse.co.uk.