Terence Rattigan Archives - North West End UK

The Winslow Boy – Frinton Summer Theatre

24Jul

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

The Winslow Boy – Frinton Summer Theatre

Is winning at any cost really worth it? This is the central question posed in Terence Rattigan’s ‘The Winslow Boy’. The year is 1908 and thirteen-year-old Ronnie Winslow (Bertie Ketterer) has been accused of petty theft. It is alleged he stole a five-shilling postal order and is then expelled from Osborne Naval College. However, Ronnie insists his innocence. His father, Arthur Winslow (Clive Brill) stands by him and vows to fight to clear his son’s name by instructing the best and most expensive barrister. The battle ‘to have right done’ commences – but the fall out has far reaching consequences. At this point one may expect some court room drama, but this is a firmly family-drama based affair with the esteemed barrister Sir Robert Morton (Will Harrison-Wallace) visiting the home and...

While The Sun Shines – Orange Tree Theatre

26Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

While The Sun Shines – Orange Tree Theatre

British writer Terence Rattigan’s 1943 comedy ‘While The Sun Shines’ makes a grand return at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, after its sold-out run in 2019. Directed by Orange Tree Theatre’s artistic director Paul Miller, the show breathes a new life into Rattigan’s sharply-written farce about a lovers’ quarrel in the backdrop of the war through well-crafted performances and an engaging in-the-round staging. When it was first published, the show surpassed the success of Rattigan’s 1936 comedy ‘French Without Tears’ and had an immensely popular run of over 1000 performances on the West End. Many attribute this to Rattigan’s ability to wring humour from ordinary characters in absurd situations as well as subtly acknowledge the circumstances and implications of war in day-to-day life....

all on her own – MZG Theatre Productions

16Feb

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

all on her own – MZG Theatre Productions

Rosemary (Janie Dee) comes home from a London party near midnight. Alone in the living room where her husband died, she begins talking to him, breaking the silence on her emotions and guilt at his passing and, possibly, communicating with him one last time. This short play was written by Terence Rattigan, a great and undeservedly neglected British playwright who once wrote for Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe and is still the only playwright to have notched more than 1000 performances for two separate plays, namely, French Without Tears and While the Sun Shines. In these Covid-times many plays are being performed for the (laptop) screen, ostensibly still as a play. In the case of All On Her Own, this is in many ways a return home as the play, performed on stage at the Overgrou...

10Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Deep Blue Sea – National Theatre

Terence Rattigan was one of the finest playwrights of his generation and over the course of many years he wrote some outstanding pieces of work for the theatre. The Deep Blue Sea is probably the best play from his repertoire, an absolute masterpiece set in post-war Britain and centred around a woman caught between worlds and realising that passion can sometimes suffocate and harm. Rattigan’s beautifully constructed play explores many issues including those of mental health, self-worth and self-esteem. The play is set over one day in a flat in West London, it’s 1952 where we first meet Hester Collyer (Helen McCrory) trying to “end it all” but through the intervention of other people who also live in the building, she thankfully fails. Hester just needs to be heard, to be loved and ...