the deep blue sea

This play will be performed at The Theatre By The Lake in Keswick from 20th July 2006 to the 4th November 2006.

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.

THE browning version

the browning version will be performed at Aldeburgh Theatre from 21st August 2006 to the 26th August 2006and then will continue at the Southwold Theatre from the 28th August 2006 to the 2nd September 2006.

This story of an unpopular and unloved schoolmaster has been filmed once before - with Michael Redgrave - and staged many times, notably at the National Theatre, London, with Alec McCowen. Reviewing a 1994 revival, The Times, wrote: 'The cruel inequalities of love always absorbed Rattigan; and not least here... This is a play that has no date'.