About the Play:

The Miracle Worker has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues, Female/Female Scenes, and Female/Male Scenes.

The Miracle Worker is a full-length drama by William Gibson. This classic Tony Award winner tells the story of real-life Medal of Freedom winner Helen Keller, born blind and deaf, and the extraordinary semi-blind teacher who taught her to communicate with the world, Anne Sullivan, who ultimately became her lifelong friend and companion. The Miracle Worker is truly unforgettable and inspiring. Especially recommended for school and contest use.

The Miracle Worker is set in the South in the 1880s and tells the dramatic story of Helen Keller's heroic struggle out of silence and darkness. A severe fever at the age of 19 months left Helen Keller deaf, blind and unable to speak. Fiercely strong, but scared out of her wits, she clawed and struggled against all who tried to help her. Annie Sullivan, half-blind herself, but blessed with fanatical dedication, began a titanic struggle to release the young girl from the terrifying prison of eternal darkness and silence. The events described in the play occurred in 1887, when Sullivan came to teach the six year-old, spelling into her hand until the mute, near-wild girl realized what language was. With Sullivan at her side for almost 50 years, Keller grew into a world-famous author and humanitarian.

The Miracle Worker was initially written for television and first aired on Playhouse 90 in 1957. After it was warmly received by television audiences, William Gibson rewrote it for the stage and then for film. The 1959 Broadway production won six Tony Awards, including Best Play in 1960. It famously starred Anne Bancroft as Irish-American Annie and 12-year-old Patty Duke as Helen. They repeated their work for the 1962 film version, each winning an Academy Award. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is regularly performed in regional, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 7 female, 7 male

What people say:

"Interesting, absorbing and moving." — New York Post

"Magnificent theatre." — New York Daily Mirror

About the Playwright:

William Gibson (1914-2008) was a Tony-award winning American playwright. Over the course of a writing career that lasted seven decades, he wrote many poems, short stories and plays, but had his greatest success with The Miracle Worker. The story of Helen Keller – who could not see, hear or speak – is one of the world's most frequently performed plays.