About the Play:

Winner of the New York Drama Critics' Award as the best foreign play of the year.

The Winslow Boy is a full-length drama by Terence Rattigan. When Ronnie Winslow is expelled from school for stealing, it has a resounding effect on the entire family. His father Arthur must pool his resources to hire a lawyer for the boy's defense. Though they are determined to defend Ronnie, will the family's sacrifices be enough to clear his reputation and the Winslow name? The Winslow Boy is a gripping tale that resonates long after the final curtain.

The Winslow Boy is a classic British drama inspired by the real-life court case involving a young naval cadet unjustly accused of theft. What begins as a small incident ultimately grows into a "cause celebre" nearly shaking the foundations of the government. The incident is simply that of a youngster in an English government school who is expelled for an alleged theft. As a matter of fact, the youngster was entirely innocent, but practically all the evidence was against him. In Terence Rattigan's intriguing and compelling play, in which he quotes from actual court transcripts, Ronnie Winslow's parents and sister are convinced of his innocence, and with the help of one most famous barristers in England, they proceed to contest the decision of the school and challenge its right, as a government-run institution, to damage the reputation of a boy without sufficient legal safeguards. The issue which began as a private matter involves the right of official agencies to impose their authority on the individuals of any democracy and, as the play moves relentlessly forward, we see in effect, citizens of a democracy challenging the forces of bureaucracy, and thus keeping alive the issue of the basic rights of the individual. A moving exploration of family devotion, The Winslow Boy beautifully illustrates the costs of unconditional love and the rewards that make the effort priceless.

The Winslow Boy premiered in 1946 at the Lyric Theatre in London and in 1947 at the Empire Theatre on Broadway and won t the New York Drama Critics' Award as the best foreign play of the year. This absorbing drama was a tremendous hit in London and the United States, became one of Terence Rattigan's best known and most loved works, and has enjoyed several high-profile revivals, both in the West End and on Broadway. The Winslow Boy is regularly performed in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 4 female, 7 male

What people say:

"...as well made an example of a well-made play as you will find anywhere." — Sunday Times (London)

"...a sterling example of Rattigan's dramatic skill and humanity... deeply poignant." — The Telegraph (London)

"...a playwright of acute emotional intelligence, elegant wit, and an extraordinary gift for expressive construction... thrilling." — The Independent (London)

"...among Terence Rattigan's finest work." — The Evening Standard (London)

"...excellent... its relevance to modern times feels obvious and urgent." — The Metro (London)

About the Author:

Sir Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) was a popular English dramatist who wrote some of the most memorable and important plays of the twentieth century. His plays are generally situated within an upper-middle-class background. He was that relative rarity among the ranks of playwrights: a major theatre author who was almost equally successful as a screenwriter, and one of a very few playwrights of his era privileged to adapt his own stage work to the screen on a regular basis.