Recent years have seen
a sustained revival of the work of Terence Rattigan. New
productions have been greeted with surprised delight that
the acknowledged master of the 'well-made play' can continue
to provoke such powerful emotions. As Rattigan himself wrote,
'I believe that the best plays are about people, and not
about things.' This volume is one of a series of new editions
of his most enduring work. Each has an authoritative and
up-to-date introduction, biographical sketch and chronology,
First performed in 1952,
when Rattigan was a the height of his powers, THE DEEP BLUE
SEA opens with the failed suicide of Hester Collyer (played
by Peggy Ashcroft in the first production). She has deserted
her husband, a judge, for the raffish charms of an ex-fighter
pilot. The play was sparked off by the suicide of a young
actor, Kenneth Morgan, with whom Rattigan had himself been
much in love. Though contained within a perfectly crafted
well-made play, Rattigan's finely observed portrait of Hester
gives THE DEEP BLUE SEA an almost classical depth and emotional
resonance.
