| "'God from afar looks graciously upon a gentle master.' It comes from a speech of Agamemnon's to Clytemnestra." — Terence Rattigan, The Browning Version |
This 50-page, one-act play hit me even harder than The Winslow Boy. Terence Rattigan's ability to both plot and stylize his worlds and characters with such concise care and understated romance is incredible.
Andrew Crocker-Harris, a retiring classics professor is unpopular with his students, disrespected by his employer and colleagues, and unloved by his wife. And yet, there is so much good in him, just under the surface, which in part he hides and others don't look. Rattigan's simple situation grows in complexity as he paints the characters around the professor and their particular estimations of him with a deliberate, breaking of expectations. The result is a partial, yet powerful grail of redemption.
I loved once again experiencing in The Browning Version what I loved in The Winslow Boy and Harlequinnade—the world-changing capacities of small, personal gestures. [JG]
Andrew Crocker-Harris, a retiring classics professor is unpopular with his students, disrespected by his employer and colleagues, and unloved by his wife. And yet, there is so much good in him, just under the surface, which in part he hides and others don't look. Rattigan's simple situation grows in complexity as he paints the characters around the professor and their particular estimations of him with a deliberate, breaking of expectations. The result is a partial, yet powerful grail of redemption.
I loved once again experiencing in The Browning Version what I loved in The Winslow Boy and Harlequinnade—the world-changing capacities of small, personal gestures. [JG]
WHO IS TERENCE RATTIGAN?
| Terence Rattigan was a 20th Century playwright, whose best-known works include The Winslow Boy, After the Dance and The Deep Blue Sea. I'll be reporting back after I've read them and some others. From the little biographical information I've read, he was influenced by Shaw, Chekhov, Galsworthy, and Barrie. This quote of his struck me for his focus on content over style, which I appreciate: "A play isn't well made if you think about how well made it is, if you see the wheels turning." |
| "He doesn't seem to like people to like him--but in spite of that, I do--very much." — Taplow, The Browning Version |
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 THE WINSLOW BOY Terence Rattigan  THE MIRACLE WORKER William Gibson |  THE EAGLET Edmond Rostand  TWELVE ANGRY MEN Reginald Rose |
