SHE was known as the Oprah Winfrey of Singapore. But now Rani Moorthy has taken on a totally different role -- or 12, to be precise.

For in her one-woman play Pooja, the talented actress and writer plays parts as diverse as an aging grandmother, a spinster aunt and a Tamil Tiger -- all in the name of conveying her complex life story.

The hit play has already earned huge acclaim in settings as diverse as the Edinburgh Festival and her native Malaysia, where its eccentric mix of absurd comedy and ritual tragedy tugged at the emotions of audiences.

Now the production, billed as a night of saris, stars and superstition, is making its way to Darwen's Library Theatre where it plays tonight, for one night only.

In the self-penned, semi-autobiographical play, Rani, 42, plays Ranjana, who is forced to struggle with the forces of her family and horoscope.

But, to make matters more complicated, Rani adds: "I also play Ranjana's mother, her grandmother, her uncle, her spinster aunt and a Chinese woman."

And, more controversially, at one point Rani even steps into the shoes of a Tamil Tiger -- the name given to the Sri Lankan separatists who have used terror tactics as a means of carving out their own state. For Rani though, a Tamil woman born in Malaysia, the multitudinous characters helped add depth to Ranjana's personality.

"I use the characters to talk about the trajectory of her life," she explains. "Many of them are humorous characters, but not all.

"That was why I thought of doing the play as a one-woman show. I thought it was important to play negative characters, as well as positive ones, with my own voice. It humanises them."

Another important theme of the play is the idea of fate and ritual. For Rani, who quit her job as a popular chat show host in Singapore to move to England, and arrived in Manchester on June 15, 1996 -- the day of the IRA bombing in the city-- the idea of fate is particularly pertinent.

"I actually heard the bomb when I was in the airport," she recalls. "I was brought up to believe in superstition and the idea that your life depends on the stars. Even if you move house, you have to do rituals to appease the ghosts of the old house. So when something like that bombing happens, you start thinking quite deeply about being away from your motherland."

Since she settled in Sale, Rani has become known as a media personality. A practising Hindu, she has presented shows like Pause for Thought and Heaven and Earth and acted in A&E and Coronation Street.

She claims to feel quite at ease with her new home.

"I've come from Singapore, which is a very materialistic and modern world of in-your-face glitterati, to somewhere which seems much more normal. I look out of my window and see children going to school for the first time. That's what's real."

Catch Pooja tonight at 7.30pm at the Darwen Library Theatre. For tickets call (01254) 706006.