Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan's epic and probing drama about the man immortalised as Lawrence of Arabia. Arrogant, flippant, withdrawn and with a talent for self-concealment, the mysterious Aircraftman Ross seems an odd recruit for the Royal Air Force. In fact the truth is even stranger than the man himself. Behind the false name is an enigma, a man named Lawrence who started as a civilian in the Map Office in 1914 and went on to mastermind some of the most audacious military victories in the history of the British Army. These victories earned him an enduring and romantic nom de guerre: Lawrence of Arabia. Rattigan's 1960 play reveals the unusual and deeply conflicted Englishman behind the heroic legend. This edition, with an Introduction by Dan Rebellato, was published alongside the revival at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2016, directed by Adrian Noble and starring Joseph Fiennes as Ross.

This biographical portrait of T. E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia) begins in 1922, when Lawrence was hiding under an assumed name as "Aircraftman Ross" in the Royal Air Force, and is being disciplined by his Flight Lieutenant for alleged misconduct. When Lawrence's identity is compromised, his dreams take him back to the various figures in his life, as the play flashes back to the famed Arab Revolts, beginning during World War I, in mid-1916.21 men

'In finance, man makes his own miracles.' Jazz, Broadway and the Great Depression. In 1930s New York City, international financier Gregor Antonescu's luck has finally run out. As news of a catastrophic business deal ripples across the world, he flees to the apartment of his estranged son Basil. There, Gregor will need all of his ruthlessness and ingenuity to save his reputation and keep his empire from collapse. But will he risk using his only son as a pawn in one last power play? A sharp and gripping tale of paternity and corruption, Terence Rattigan's play Man and Boy was first performed in London in 1963. This edition was published alongside a revival at the National Theatre, London, in 2026. It features the original version of Rattigan's play, with an authoritative introduction by Rattigan scholar Dan Rebellato and an afterword by Anthony Lau, director of the revival.

Mr. Rattigan has given a mild wartime slant to his play. One the eve of his marriage, the young and wealthy Earl of Harpenden puts up an American Lieutenant for the night; and in the morning dates him up with a former girl friend. The American mistakes the earl's finance for the girl friend, and the two of them fall in love with each other before he discovers his mistake. What with a French officer also in the race, the girl friend very much in evidence, and the fiancee's father, a deadbeat duke, adding to the complications, an evening of hilarious fun is the result.-2 women, 5 men

The Sleeping Prince: An Occasional Fairy Tale is a 1953 play by Terence Rattigan, conceived to coincide with the coronation of Elizabeth II in the same year. Set in London in 1911, it tells the story of Mary Morgan, a young actress, who meets and ultimately captivates Prince Charles of Carpathia, considered to be inspired by Carol II of Romania.5 women, 7 men

A double bill by Terence Rattigan, featuring two plays of striking contrast that display his astonishing range as a writer. The comic gem Harlequinade follows a classical theatre company whose intrigues and dalliances are revealed with increasingly calamitous consequences in an affectionate celebration of the lunatic art of putting on a play. A powerfully atmospheric one-woman play, All On Her Own tells the story of Rosemary who, alone at midnight in London, has a secret burden to share that is both heartbreaking and sinister. Harlequinade & All On Her Own was performed as part of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s Plays at the Garrick Season in 2015, starring Zoë Wanamaker and Kenneth Branagh, and co-directed by Branagh and Rob Ashford. This official tie-in edition features both plays, plus exclusive additional content including an introduction to Rattigan's work, interviews with Kenneth Branagh, Rob Ashford, Zoë Wanamaker and designer Christopher Oram, and reproductions of Oram's original design sketches.

Terence Rattigan's sparkling comedy about a group of bright young things attempting to learn French on the Riviera amid myriad distractions, French Without Tears ran for over a thousand performances in the 1930s and remains a delight today. When a group of young men arrives at Professor Maingot's French school for the summer to cram for the Diplomatic exam, they find their concentration disrupted by the beautiful Diana Lake. Quelle surprise, they have another new language to learn: girls. At first, it seems pretty simple. Kit loves Diana and she loves him. And Bill. Oh, and darling Alan, of course. Then there's Jack: she's in love too. Meanwhile, Babe conceals his feelings...Perhaps it's not so simple after all. French Without Tears was first performed in 1936. This edition was published in 2015 alongside a revival at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond. Also included is an authoritative introduction and biographical sketch by Dan Rebellato.

One of two Shakespearean ham actors touring the provinces has a dubious and shady past.

Ill health is forcing Andrew to retire from teaching. His wife despises him for his failures and finds consolation with Frank, a younger teacher. She openly taunts Andrew while Frank watches with disgust and shame. The wife knows she has lost Frank - but even more bitter is the realization he's now Andrew's best friend.

"Feelings can't sometimes be helped, but the expression of them can." Inspired by La Dame aux Camelias, and set amidst the glamorous and exotic society of the 1950s French Riviera, Variation on a Theme revolves around the tempestuous love affair between Rose, a beautiful and worldly socialite, and Ron, a young ballet dancer with a keen eye for social advancement. In an emotionally charged story of desire and disillusionment, Rose is persuaded by Ron's choreographer and mentor, Sam, to sacrifice her personal happiness for the sake of her young lover's success and career. But as Rose's health deteriorates, and Ron is faced with the loveless reality of their separation, they finally face up to their need to be needed. A forgotten classic by "one of the supreme dramatists of the 20th century" (Michael Billington, Guardian), Terence Rattigan's Variation on a Theme was presented by HPZ Productions in association with Neil McPherson at the Finborough Theatre in February 2014. The production, its first in more than fifty years, starred twice Olivier Award nominated Rachael Stirling. The play's original 1958 premiere was directed by John Gielgud and starred Margaret Leighton and Jeremy Brett.

One of the darkest and most romantic of Dickens' novels, A Tale of Two Cities was adapted for the stage by the dream team of Terence Rattigan and John Gielgud in 1935, but a planned West End production was never staged. It finally received its professional world premiere at the King's Head Theatre in September 2013. In a time when governments all over the world are facing down political unrest and fierce protests, this revolutionary story has never been more relevant. The adaptation, edited by King's Head artistic director Adam Spreadbury-Maher, marries three of the finest artists in their own fields that England has ever known: Dickens the master story-teller, Rattigan the great playwright and Gielgud the mercurial actor. Gielgud intended to play both Sydney Carton and a number of other roles, and this adaptation reflects that ambition by having thirty characters played by just eight actors.

Love in Idleness is the third in Terence Rattigan's unofficial trilogy of war plays (after Flare Path and While the Sun Shines). It is published here alongside an earlier version of the play, Less Than Kind, which was never staged during Rattigan's lifetime. Michael, eighteen, returns to wartime London from schooling in Canada, brimming with youthful left-wing convictions. Reunited with his mother, he is alarmed as he begins to realise that she is the mistress of a leading member of the war cabinet. Sparks fly between the idealistic younger man and the pragmatic politician, while the mother is torn between them... Love in Idleness was first staged at the Lyric Theatre, London, in December 1944, in a version rewritten by Rattigan at the request of the production's stars, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. The earlier version of the play, Less Than Kind, was never staged and remained unpublished until 2011, the centenary of Rattigan's birth. That version was premiered at Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in January 2011. This volume presents both plays in full so that readers may judge for themselves which is the better. This edition includes an authoritative introduction by Dan Rebellato, a biographical sketch and chronology.

Two plays from one of the leading dramatists of the 20th century. In Who is Sylvia?, Mark is obsessed with a girl called Sylvia, whom he kissed just once at a garden party when he was 17. He makes a habit of pursuing physically identical girls for the rest of his life - despite having a wife and growing son. Terence Rattigan's play Who is Sylvia? premiered in the West End in 1950, where it ran for over a year. He seems to be offering a bittersweet portayal of his father - and maybe of his own frustrated love life. Also included in this volume is Duologue, a short monologue play for a female actor in which a woman reminisces movingly about her dead husband. Originally written for television and appearing here for the first time in print, Duologue was broadcast in 1968 and subsequently staged in 1976 in a double bill with The Browning Version.

The extraordinary story of the relationship between the famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, drawing on an unproduced screenplay by Terence Rattigan. In a hotel room a once-lauded playwright meets Nijinsky's elderly widow, Romola, to fight over his latest play. Meanwhile, in the same room, Diaghilev and the young Romola fight over the tormented Nijinsky. In 1974, Terence Rattigan wrote a television script for the BBC about the relationship between Diaghilev, the impresario behind the Ballets Russes, and Nijinsky, the most renowned dancer of all time, which Rattigan described as 'the greatest love story since Romeo and Juliet'. But the playwright withdrew the play and it was never produced. Now in this bold re-imagining of events, Nicholas Wright investigates why. Nicholas Wright's play Rattigan's Nijinsky was first staged at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2011.

Terence Rattigan's first play, published for the first time in this edition to mark the centenary of his birth. Written with his fellow student, Philip Heimann, while they were both at Oxford, First Episode shows an infatuated undergraduate, Tony, falling for Margot, an actress ten years his senior. And vice versa. Completing a triangle of rival affections is Tony's best friend, David. Originally staged at a small experimental theatre in Kew in 1933, First Episode transferred to the West End and then to New York. Rattigan was twenty-two years old. Though not revived since then, it is a candidate – with its cast of eight – for rediscovery, much as was the now-feted After the Dance. This edition in the Nick Hern Books Rattigan Collection includes an authoritative introduction by Rattigan scholar Dan Rebellato.

Based on the true story of Alma Rattenbury, who, in 1935, went on trial with her eighteen-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. In the play, Terence Rattigan pits Alma against a formidable lady juror, whose own life offers a plangent counterpoint to the central tale of love, betrayal, guilt and obsession. Published in this edition alongside a major revival of the play at The Old Vic, London, Cause Célèbre was Rattigan's last play and was still running in the West End at the time of his death in 1977. It comes, like the other volumes in NHB's uniform edition of Rattigan's plays, with an authoritative introduction by Rattigan scholar Dan Rebellato. ‘Few dramatists of this century have written with more understanding of the human heart than Terence Rattigan’ - Michael Billington