About Rattigan’s most famous play

The Winslow Boy is set in London at a time, just before the outbreak of The First World War, when many people were subject to strong social codes. It is the story of teenage naval cadet Ronnie Winslow, who is dismissed from Osborne Naval College after being accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order from another cadet.

Despite protesting his innocence, the boy is expelled without a fair hearing, leaving his father Arthur incensed by the way his son has been treated by the Admiralty. He vows to fight for the justice his son deserves, and without which the whole family would be shunned by their peers.

The true events behind this moving play were one of the most discussed stories of the time, still living strongly in the memory when the play was first produced just after the Second World War, in 1946. Such is the persistent resonance of the play, that it has been revived several times both in the West End and on Broadway, attracting stars such as Kenneth More and Nigel Hawthorne. It was made in to a film in 1948, and has been adapted by the BBC no fewer than four times.

The Winslow Boy also has a great local interest to it. Prior to being selected for Osborne Naval College, the boy at the heart of the real life story, George Archer Shee, was a pupil at nearby Stonyhurst College. He returned to his old school after his dismissal, and went on the serve in the Great War, losing his life at Ypres aged just 19. His name can be found, along with his fellow students, on the War Memorial at Stonyhurst.

Arthur Winslow - Kim Croydon
Grace Winslow - Kate Herron
Catherine Winslow - Jenny Spurrett
Dickie Winslow - Lucas Bowers
Ronnie Winslow - Joseph Oakes
Sir Robert Morton - Chris Bowers
Violet - Geralyn Lambert
John Watherstone - Kenny Entwistle
Desmond Curry - Alan Herron
Miss Barnes - Diane Rimmer
Fred - Peter Lambert

Directed by Jacqui Shepherd