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Rattigan and Gielgud's dramatization of Dickens is set during the French Revolution in London and Paris, using a flexible ensemble to portray its many roles. Gielgud planned to play Sydney Carton and several other characters.
Adventure Story is a 1949, play by the English dramatist Terence Rattigan. The play tells the story of Alexander the Great and his conquests. In this play Rattigan portrays the historical Alexander faithfully, at the same time revealing that his life was what it was because he was the kind of person who very well might have wept because nothing remained to conquer. The play focuses on the transformation of Alexander after his conquest of Persia from a military adventurist to an uncompromising despot with grand vision of a world empire which estranges him from his erstwhile friends. Driven by a deep-felt insecurity, he has to kill people close to him including even the father figure Cleitus. He tries to justify his actions in the name of his dreams of the world empire, but is haunted by loneliness in the end The play holds a deeper significance, that the conquests of Alexander were actually trials to find himself and achieve spiritual enlightenment, through becoming a god (see Theosis). The play ends with a nihilistic tone, that Alexander was to die and fade after all, his last words in the play are 'Who is to succeed me to the throne of Asia? Who shall I condemn to death?'
David and Joan Scott-Fowler were 'bright young things' of the 1920s, whose ambition is to treat everything as trivial and to live lives of pure sensation. They always maintained that they married for amusement and not for love. However, Helen Banner, a serious young woman, has fallen in love with David and is determined to change his lifestyle, free him from Joan, stop him from drinking and re-awaken the serious historian in him. Unfortunately, Joan does indeed love David very deeply and is trapped by her posture of carelessness. At a party they are holding, Joan is bruised by the clash between private agony and public joy and she kills herself. The characters are shattered by the revelation and even though David and Helen plan to get away from this life, the play ends with a clear sign that David will continue as he did.
At the Falcon Hotel on the Lincolnshire coast, men from a nearby RAF airbase are planning to spend the weekend with their wives. Patricia Graham, an actress from London, has something to tell her husband Teddy, who is a bomber pilot. The situation is complicated when Peter Kyle, a Hollywood film star, arrives at the hotel, and Teddy is sent out on a night raid over Germany. Patricia is torn between a rekindled old flame and loyalty to the husband who relies on her for support. Patricia and Peter had a love affair before she met Teddy, but she left because Peter was not free to marry her. Patricia married Teddy after a "whirlwind wartime romance" while he was on a week's leave. She does not know her husband very well, and she was still in love with Peter when they wed. She reconnected with Peter in London and now plans to tell Teddy she is leaving him, but she is annoyed by Peter's unexpected arrival at the hotel. Peter tells her that his career is waning as he gets older and that he needs her. Teddy's tail gunner Dusty Miller is awaiting his wife Maudie, who is late. Maudie only has a short time off from the laundry where she has had to work since the war began. She was bombed out of their home in the Blitz, but she says matter-of-factly: "... there's a war on, and things have got to be a bit different, and we've just got to get used to it – that's all." Doris waits for her husband Count Skriczevinsky, a Polish pilot serving with the RAF. His wife and son were killed by the Nazis, and he came to Britain, despite his poor command of the English language, to join the war against Germany. Doris met him while working as a barmaid, and though she is now his Countess, she worries about what will happen when the war is over and he is able to return to Poland. Also present at the hotel are the proprietor, Mrs. Oakes; Percy, a young waiter who is interested in RAF operations; and an airman named Corporal Wiggy Jones. Soon after everyone has arrived, Squadron Leader Swanson summons the men back to base for an unscheduled night operation, and their wives are left behind to await their return. Swanson, who is affectionately called Gloria by Teddy, remains at the hotel. As Patricia and Swanson look out at the flare path from the hotel window, one of the planes is destroyed on takeoff by the Luftwaffe. Doris and Maudie come downstairs while Swanson calls the airfield and learns that the plane did not belong to any of their husbands. At 5:30 a.m., Teddy and Dusty return from the mission, but Count Skriczevinsky is missing in action. Teddy confesses to Patricia that he is losing his nerve. His plane was hit and he was responsible for bringing his six crewmen back home. He knew his crew trusted him but he was terrified, and he tells Patricia she was the only thing that kept him going. Patricia has a change of heart and decides to stay with Teddy. She tells Peter, "I used to think that our private happiness was something far too important to be affected by outside things, like war or marriage vows..." but that "beside what's happening out there;... it's just tiny and rather – cheap – I'm afraid." Doris asks Peter to translate a letter written in French that the Count left for her in case anything happened to him. In the letter, the Count says he loves her and wishes he could have taken her to Poland after the war. Doris asks if Peter made that part up, but Peter tells her he did not. Peter intends to tell Teddy everything but changes his mind and departs. Count Skriczevinsky returns safely and is reunited with Doris.
French Without Tears is a comic play written by a 25-year-old Terence Rattigan in 1936.
During the Second World War, a military-intelligence officer and his East European refugee wife each conceal her terminal illness from the other, using deceptions learned during the war to protect one another. Their writer friend carries an old love for Lydia, while their son rebels against his father's manner and politics.
Rattigan and Gielgud's dramatization of Dickens is set during the French Revolution in London and Paris, using a flexible ensemble to portray its many roles. Gielgud planned to play Sydney Carton and several other characters.
Adventure Story is a 1949, play by the English dramatist Terence Rattigan. The play tells the story of Alexander the Great and his conquests. In this play Rattigan portrays the historical Alexander faithfully, at the same time revealing that his life was what it was because he was the kind of person who very well might have wept because nothing remained to conquer. The play focuses on the transformation of Alexander after his conquest of Persia from a military adventurist to an uncompromising despot with grand vision of a world empire which estranges him from his erstwhile friends. Driven by a deep-felt insecurity, he has to kill people close to him including even the father figure Cleitus. He tries to justify his actions in the name of his dreams of the world empire, but is haunted by loneliness in the end The play holds a deeper significance, that the conquests of Alexander were actually trials to find himself and achieve spiritual enlightenment, through becoming a god (see Theosis). The play ends with a nihilistic tone, that Alexander was to die and fade after all, his last words in the play are 'Who is to succeed me to the throne of Asia? Who shall I condemn to death?'
David and Joan Scott-Fowler were 'bright young things' of the 1920s, whose ambition is to treat everything as trivial and to live lives of pure sensation. They always maintained that they married for amusement and not for love. However, Helen Banner, a serious young woman, has fallen in love with David and is determined to change his lifestyle, free him from Joan, stop him from drinking and re-awaken the serious historian in him. Unfortunately, Joan does indeed love David very deeply and is trapped by her posture of carelessness. At a party they are holding, Joan is bruised by the clash between private agony and public joy and she kills herself. The characters are shattered by the revelation and even though David and Helen plan to get away from this life, the play ends with a clear sign that David will continue as he did.
At the Falcon Hotel on the Lincolnshire coast, men from a nearby RAF airbase are planning to spend the weekend with their wives. Patricia Graham, an actress from London, has something to tell her husband Teddy, who is a bomber pilot. The situation is complicated when Peter Kyle, a Hollywood film star, arrives at the hotel, and Teddy is sent out on a night raid over Germany. Patricia is torn between a rekindled old flame and loyalty to the husband who relies on her for support. Patricia and Peter had a love affair before she met Teddy, but she left because Peter was not free to marry her. Patricia married Teddy after a "whirlwind wartime romance" while he was on a week's leave. She does not know her husband very well, and she was still in love with Peter when they wed. She reconnected with Peter in London and now plans to tell Teddy she is leaving him, but she is annoyed by Peter's unexpected arrival at the hotel. Peter tells her that his career is waning as he gets older and that he needs her. Teddy's tail gunner Dusty Miller is awaiting his wife Maudie, who is late. Maudie only has a short time off from the laundry where she has had to work since the war began. She was bombed out of their home in the Blitz, but she says matter-of-factly: "... there's a war on, and things have got to be a bit different, and we've just got to get used to it – that's all." Doris waits for her husband Count Skriczevinsky, a Polish pilot serving with the RAF. His wife and son were killed by the Nazis, and he came to Britain, despite his poor command of the English language, to join the war against Germany. Doris met him while working as a barmaid, and though she is now his Countess, she worries about what will happen when the war is over and he is able to return to Poland. Also present at the hotel are the proprietor, Mrs. Oakes; Percy, a young waiter who is interested in RAF operations; and an airman named Corporal Wiggy Jones. Soon after everyone has arrived, Squadron Leader Swanson summons the men back to base for an unscheduled night operation, and their wives are left behind to await their return. Swanson, who is affectionately called Gloria by Teddy, remains at the hotel. As Patricia and Swanson look out at the flare path from the hotel window, one of the planes is destroyed on takeoff by the Luftwaffe. Doris and Maudie come downstairs while Swanson calls the airfield and learns that the plane did not belong to any of their husbands. At 5:30 a.m., Teddy and Dusty return from the mission, but Count Skriczevinsky is missing in action. Teddy confesses to Patricia that he is losing his nerve. His plane was hit and he was responsible for bringing his six crewmen back home. He knew his crew trusted him but he was terrified, and he tells Patricia she was the only thing that kept him going. Patricia has a change of heart and decides to stay with Teddy. She tells Peter, "I used to think that our private happiness was something far too important to be affected by outside things, like war or marriage vows..." but that "beside what's happening out there;... it's just tiny and rather – cheap – I'm afraid." Doris asks Peter to translate a letter written in French that the Count left for her in case anything happened to him. In the letter, the Count says he loves her and wishes he could have taken her to Poland after the war. Doris asks if Peter made that part up, but Peter tells her he did not. Peter intends to tell Teddy everything but changes his mind and departs. Count Skriczevinsky returns safely and is reunited with Doris.
French Without Tears is a comic play written by a 25-year-old Terence Rattigan in 1936.
During the Second World War, a military-intelligence officer and his East European refugee wife each conceal her terminal illness from the other, using deceptions learned during the war to protect one another. Their writer friend carries an old love for Lydia, while their son rebels against his father's manner and politics.
A young man returns from Canada with radical left-wing views and is horrified to discover that his mother has begun a relationship with a wealthy businessman serving as Minister for Tank Production.
The play is a study of a ruthless, sociopathic businessman: his inability to love and the impact of this on others (notably, his son and his wife). The central character Gregor Antonescu was based on the lives of Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish Match King, and Samuel Insull the Anglo-American investor.
The play is structured with a framing device set 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. No one seems to have become aware of his true identity, except for a man named Dickinson, who had seen Lawrence at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and quickly attempts to blackmail him to keep his identity secret. Lawrence, however, refuses, and Dickinson decides to reveal his identity to the Daily Mirror. After Lawrence has a dream sequence, flashing back to the various figures in his life, the play flashes back to mid-1916. Lawrence is being given an unofficial assignment as a liaison officer to the forces of the Arab Revolt, under Prince Feisal (who, although he is frequently mentioned, never appears as a character). Sir Ronald Storrs, the head of the Arab Bureau, tries to talk him out of the mission, as does Colonel Barrington, a bull-headed intelligence officer. Along with two Arab servants, Hamed and Rashid (similar to Lawrence's real-life companions Farraj and Daud), Lawrence enters the desert, revealing that he feels that the supreme being of the world is "the will", and he believes that he can achieve anything if he puts his mind to it. Lawrence later meets Auda ibu Tayi, leader of the Howeitat tribe of Bedouin, using flattery to convert him to the Arab cause (he has been paid off by the Turks to support them). Auda and Lawrence soon plan an expedition through the Nefud Desert to capture the Turkish-held port of Aqaba, which is weakly defended from the landward side. Along the way to Aqaba, however, he is forced to execute an Arab for murdering another in a feud. Meanwhile, the Turkish military governor of Deraa and his subordinate, a captain, watch with growing unease Lawrence's campaign against the Hejaz Railway, though they fail to ascertain the target of his campaign. The General decides to place a reward of £20,000 on Lawrence for his capture, and these leads to a comic scene where the Captain arrives in Auda's camp to offer him the reward, and Lawrence is present. Unable to act despite recognising Lawrence, the Captain is forced to leave the camp. At the end of Act I, Lawrence arrives at an army outpost in the Sinai Peninsula and uses a telephone station (despite the protests of a British naval officer) to report the Arab capture of Aqaba. Act II begins in the office of the new commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, General Edmund Allenby, who is present with Storrs and Barrington. Allenby asks their opinions of Lawrence before Lawrence himself arrives. Storrs praises Lawrence, while Barrington finds him repugnant and undeserving of a position of responsibility. Allenby engages Lawrence in a brief discussion, which includes chat about archaeology, literature, and furniture, alternating with a serious discussion about the progress of the war. While Allenby wants Lawrence to be the permanent commander of the Arab liaison forces, Lawrence expresses the view that he is not up to the task, and admits to a conflict of conscience over aiding the Arabs while being aware of the Sykes-Picot Agreement to divide up the Ottoman Empire – although Allenby convinces him otherwise. On a reconnaissance mission in Deraa, Lawrence speaks with Hamed, with whom he has grown close, as Rasheed, the other servant, died on the march to Aqaba. Hamed has tried to bribe more Arabs into joining the cause, but they have been frightened into refusing by the Turks. Lawrence is arrested by a Turkish army sergeant, believing him to be a Circassian army deserter. He is taken back to Turkish HQ, where on the orders of the General, he is beaten and then raped. This is a deliberate action by the General, who feels that Lawrence is too extraordinary an enemy to simply kill; he must destroy his will and his personality through such an act, thus revealing his weakness. At the beginning of Act III, Allenby has just received word of the fall of Jerusalem and is posing for photographs for a journalist named Franks (a stand-in for Lowell Thomas), who requests an interview with Lawrence. During this scene Barrington (now a Brigadier General on Allenby's staff) asks Lawrence to deny that his men execute prisoners, although he is disgusted when Lawrence admits that they have. Allenby interrupts the conversation, and discusses Lawrence's request to be transferred from Arabia – a request Allenby turns down. Lawrence feels that he has learned "the truth" about himself, refusing to discuss his rape with Allenby. At this point, Storrs enters, informing Allenby that the British government wants him to enter Jerusalem in a triumph – and Allenby all but forces Lawrence to take part in the parade. The last sequence occurs in September 1918, the last days of the war, after the Battle of Megiddo has smashed the Turkish armies and the road to Damascus is all but open. Speaking with an RAF officer, Flight Lieutenant Higgins, Lawrence recounts his own force's hand in the operation, including the massacre of 4,000 Turks outside Tafas, in retaliation for their sack of the village. However, Higgins is more disturbed about Lawrence's execution of a wounded colleague – later revealed to be Hamed, Lawrence's servant. Lawrence then meets with Auda, recounting the death of Hamed. Lawrence inadvertently reveals the British treachery towards the Arabs to Auda, although he then promises Auda that he will fight for the Arabs "to the limits of my strength". At this point Barrington arrives, and Auda expresses his admiration for Lawrence to him before exiting. After Auda's departure, Barrington complains that the Arab forces occupying Deraa have committed atrocities against Turkish soldiers captured there and refuses to allow the Arabs to garrison the city. He also discusses the Tafas massacre with Lawrence, referring to him as a "callous, soulless, sadistic little brute", while Lawrence concedes that he is "lost to all human feeling". The play ends in 1922, with the RAF officers trying to smuggle Lawrence away from the barracks before the press, newly alerted to the identity of "Ross", can descend on them.
A pair of one-act plays set in the same Bournemouth hotel: Table by the Window follows a disgraced politician and his ex-wife as they cautiously reconcile; Table Number Seven follows a repressed young woman who befriends and falls in love with a man hiding sexual harassment allegations.
Set in 1962 at a public school resembling David Hare’s own school, South Downs is a commissioned response to Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version, written for the centenary of Rattigan’s birth.
At the Beauregard Private Hotel, Major Pollock tries to hide a newspaper report of his sexual harassment of women. A repressed young woman takes his side and falls in love with him, while hotel manager Miss Cooper encourages the guests to face their feelings honestly.
At the Beauregard Private Hotel, a disgraced politician, Martin, dines with his ex-wife, who seeks reconciliation after divorcing a second husband. Miss Cooper, Martin's mistress and the hotel manager, helps the former couple cautiously reunite.
Andrew Crocker-Harris is a classics teacher at an English boys' school. After eighteen years of teaching there, today is his last day before moving on to a position at another school. The students speculate on why he is leaving, but do not much care since despite being academically brilliant, he is generally despised as being strict, stern and humourless. They have nicknamed him "The Crock". Even the school administrators treat him poorly regardless of his long tenure. Millie Crocker-Harris, his wife, is younger and vivacious and quite different from her husband. She no longer loves him but instead loves Frank Hunter, another teacher, yet despite having an affair with him she knows that he is not in love with her. On this last day, one student named Taplow, who does not hate Crocker-Harris but feels sorry for him, gives him a small going-away gift – a copy of the translation by Robert Browning of Aeschylus's ancient play Agamemnon. The gift brings about a series of actions which make Crocker-Harris reflect on his past, contemplate his future, and evaluate how he is going to finish his tenure at the school.
During the 1911 coronation season, young actress Mary Morgan meets Prince Regent Charles of Carpathia. Their initially awkward courtship unfolds amid a political plot against Charles, and the two part with the prospect of reuniting after their respective contracts end.
When fourteen-year-old Ronnie Winslow is expelled from naval college for allegedly stealing a postal order, his father fights to clear his name. With help from his daughter Catherine, solicitor Desmond Curry, and barrister Sir Robert Morton, the family brings pressure on the government to allow a court case. The Admiralty withdraws its accusation, though the legal fight has cost the family money and disrupted its future plans.
Rose, a wealthy woman living near Cannes, has married several men for money before falling for a young ballet dancer. At his choreographer’s urging, she gives him up for the sake of his career; he returns when she is dying of tuberculosis.
A man spends the rest of his life searching for the image of a woman he met when he was seventeen; the play offers a thinly veiled portrait of Terence Rattigan’s philandering father.