Continuing in its traditional vein of staunch realism Circa’s current play on offer is a formal, compactly structured period piece by Terence Rattigan. Unexpectedly for The Winslow Boy’s pre-World War 1 setting and storyline, it provides a relevant exploration of many aspects of human nature. Issues of popularism, injustice (both intuitive and systematic), the tyranny of the established order, and romantic love are especially well examined. And unexpectedly for a realist piece The Winslow Boy does not end in murder or suicide. On the contrary it is uplifting, humorous and encouraging, and though not especially challenging or emotionally penetrating for a liberal audience, this Circa production is thoroughly worth a view by those who enjoy competently performed, well-crafted realism.

A solidly structured four act piece, the play culminates in a satisfying series of resolutions. These resolutions are heart-warming rather than contrived, particularly due to the weight of the ‘real events’ that lie behind the narrative. Those events concern the lives of a historical family; the Winslow’s; and the attempts of the Winslow father to gain justice for his falsely accused naval cadet son. The final ‘happy ending’ of the play cannot be therefore be criticised for feeling contrived, but Rattigan does surround this core story with fictionalised sub-plots, and the way in which these side stories wrap up neatly and gaily takes a little getting used to for those accustomed to realism as a genre of tragedy.

Though the play is rich with enthusing performances, those by Jeffrey Thomas, K C Kelly and Kate Prior stand out. Thomas’ Arthur Winslow, the fearsome and un-evenhanded father of the household, is charismatic and sharp. Under firm direction from Ross Jolly, Thomas adeptly charts his character’s journey from assurance and stubbornness into flexibility and self-reflection, mirroring the changes in mindset with changes in voice, tone and mood.

Kate Prior as the Winslow daughter Catherine is also enthralling to watch; she captures the essence of her well-drawn character with ease, providing the elements self-doubt, introspection and ethical conviction needed to keep the role believable. And it is with savoir faire that K C Kelly performs the role of Sir Robert Morton, advocate for the Winslow family and an erudite, astute and wonderfully confused man. The final scene of tension and allusion between Catherine and Sir Robert captivates for its entire length.

The success of that scene contrasts with the awkwardness of the final liaison between Catherine and her suitor John Watherstone (Gavin Rutherford.) Through the ambiguity of the lovers’ dialogue and Catherine’s vow of love the actors manage to create a sense of disconnect; but it seems the full potential of this scene is lost in the overplaying of that ambiguity. The tension of the interaction is perhaps not as stretched as it could be and Catherine’s subsequent resolution becomes obvious and expected.

Emma Kinane provides a concrete backbone for the production in her unwavering portrayal of the servant class of the time; her enunciations as the working class maid Violet contrast strikingly with the eloquence of her employers. Whilst those employers, the Winslow family, are shown to be compassionate and humble in and of themselves, the extent of Violet’s reliance on the family and the denial of her own private rights as an individual come across as appalling and hypocritical injustices. Rattigan’s examination of injustice is elsewhere so thorough in the play it seems likely to have extended to the arrogance and wrong of maintaining and controlling a servant class.

The only slightly incongruous casting choice seems to be that of Stephen Gledhill in the role of Desmond Curry. While Gledhill pulls off the attitude of a depressed and lonely suitor – a character reminiscent of The Seagull’s Medvedenko – his former life and glory as a national cricket star is less easy to believe.

Political themes surge beneath much of The Winslow Boy’s dialogue, the thread of feminism being particularly strong. Catherine is a young suffragette, and weathers claims from many that she is fighting a losing battle. Her Reason and informed political views push forward the central cause of gaining justice for her brother, ‘the’ Winslow boy and in an interesting reversal of stereotypes her father states that it is with his “intuition and [her] reason” that they fight the injustice of the status quo.

John Hodgkin’s set design places this drama superbly. Antique three-legged tables, wall paneling, Gainsborough-like paintings and “real” rain (which unfortunately squeaked on opening night) take verisimilitude to an extreme in a space reminiscent of Ibsen’s drawing rooms. There is even an “inner room”, complete with lamps and sofas, which we glimpse through an internal door. Gillie Coxill complements this appearance of reality with well studied costuming.

Circa’s The Winslow Boy offers a chance to see a competently produced and adeptly performed piece of 20th century realism. While it is not outstandingly challenging or thought provoking, its political themes stir sympathy and raise interesting ideas about injustice and responsibility; and its humour and pace make for a fully entertaining evening.

Originally published in The Lumière Reader.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Becoming immersed in a well-produced Terence Rattigan play is like taking a long slow bath after countless quick showers; like travelling to a land progress forgot instead of opting for the thrills of adventure tourism.

Not that The Winslow Boy isn’t dramatic. Based on a real story and set closer to the outbreak of what we now call World War One, it is a classic ‘well made play’, comprehensively structured to move from exposition through complication and confrontation to resolution.

Thus the middle class family of retired banker Arthur Winslow and his conservative wife Grace are dealing with matters like the impending marriage of daughter Catherine, a committed suffragette, and the career future of son Dickie, more given to the new-fangled music and dancing than hard work at Oxford, when younger son Ronnie, a 13 year-old naval cadet, is ‘sacked’ from Osborne Naval College for stealing a five shilling postal order.

Believing his son to be innocent, and outraged at Ronnie’s lack of recourse to a fair trial, Arthur puts principle ahead of pragmatism. The Crown and its Admiralty claim infallibility and immunity from the rigours of common justice, arguing that for the sake of discipline and security, sometimes private rights have to be sacrificed for the public good. Others suggest that if he keeps his head down it’ll all be forgotten soon enough. But Arthur’s war cry is, "Let right be done!" (the phrase Edward II wrote alongside his signature on the Petition of Right that allowed the real life case to go to court for a fair trial).

Instructing the family solicitor, Desmond Curry, to retain the best barrister, Sir Robert Morton, inevitably takes its financial toll. At personal levels, everything is thrown into jeopardy: Catherine’s wedding, Dickie’s time at Oxford, Arthur and Grace’s comfortable retirement, their ability to keep Violet the maid on after 24 years of loyal service …

As the drama unfolds, the public faces of some characters give way to surprising insights into who they really are, or who they have become as a result of this challenge. And (as in the real-life case) this David v Goliath story – civilian v The Military; individual v The System – becomes a cause célèbre, putting the family home under siege from reporters. Being written at the end of WWII and set just before WWI, the principles at stake are clearly intended to resonate at national and international levels too. 

These days our own Ahmed Zaoui case (asking for a fair trial in the face of an establishment’s belief in its own infallibility) is a specific parallel. The immunity from natural justice exercised in such places as the Guantanamo Bay detention centre also springs to mind, on thinking about it. But does seeing the Circa production of The Winslow Boy prompt us to consider such current issues, and even resolve to be less passive in accepting the status quo, or is it just a warm soak in the pleasures of old-fashioned theatre, affording us the chance to watch local actors beat – or at least equal – the Brits at their own game of understating inner passions to great dramatic effect?

Is The Winslow Boy just too simplistic to reflect on to today’s more complex world or does it bring us back to important key principles? For example, does a woman journalist (unusual in itself in those days) who is more interested in Grace’s choice of curtains than the substantive issues of the case, render the play dated and less than relevant, or does it capture the essence of a popular press culture that still prevails today?

Or another example: despite increasing pressure on the family budget, neither Grace nor Arthur can bring themselves to dismiss Violet. Is this but a quaint reminder of what made the British middle classes cry poor, or does it encapsulate principles of basic humanity that were a long time coming in Britain following ‘laissez faire’ economics, and which remain in jeopardy today as the ‘market forces’ of Thatcher/Reagan/Rogernomics continue to take their toll?

While each of us may come to different conclusions on such questions, I cannot dismiss the fact that The Winslow Boy does distil timeless and universal themes, transcending its immediate subject to capture an essence of human potential that will always be relevant to each of us as individual citizens who share collective responsibilities. And Rattigan’s skill in drawing the characters, dramatising the action and structuring the story to maximum dramatic effect, all with in one room, is an object lesson in theatrical craftsmanship. No doubt about that.

This Ross Jolly-directed Circa production – in John Hodgkins’ elegant wood-panelled drawing room with a hint of garden beyond, lit by Phillip Dexter, with modestly stylish costumes designed by Gillie Coxill – is ideally cast to ensure the play gets an optimal hearing.

Jeffrey Thomas’s gruff and ailing Arthur epitomises integrity and determination, laced with moments of doubt and awareness of the wider implications of his continued actions. The times when heartfelt emotions break past the stiff upper lip are all the more effective for their scarcity.

As Grace Winslow, Jude Gibson brings emotion much closer to the surface and finds that slightly daffy persona so many British women resorted to as a means of coping with their lot back then. Emma Kinnane’s much loved, if taken for granted, Violet is the means by which the household functions and her ambiguous display of emotion in the penultimate scene is a highlight of the production.

With more modern ideas about the rights and roles of women, Catherine Winslow nevertheless hopes to makes a good marriage with the eminently eligible John Watherstone, only to have her true mettle and values tested as the action unfolds. Kate Prior inhabits the role to perfection, commanding empathy with every nuance of thought and feeling, and ensuring we sense her further potential in a changing world.

Simon Vincent’s Dickie Winslow is delightfully flighty and self-centred, offering an important contrast to the more earnest characters. And in the title role, as Ronnie, Felix Sampson (who alternates with Nick Fenton) does a splendid job of being very much the boy, not only innocent of the crime but innocent in his understanding of the forces swirling about him.

K.C. Kelly luxuriates in the florid yet enigmatic role of the top barrister, Sir Robert Morton. While his accent is the only one of all the cast’s to slip, betraying his American roots, the character’s amoral cunning and intelligent perceptions come through loud and clear. 

As John Watherstone, Gavin Rutherford captures the conservative backbone – or lack of it – in the British establishment to a tee. Stephen Gledhill makes a neat job of Desmond, the uncharismatic solicitor. Danielle Mason sketches in the cameo role of Miss Barnes, the woman journalist, with a sure touch.

The question of whether mounting this play is a good use of Circa’s resources, or the best way to exercise its responsibilities as a major recipient of public funding, remains unresolved for me. Certainly new generations should be as exposed to Rattigan as they are to Shakespeare, Chekhov, Ibsen, et al. And if it finds an audience, that will partly answer it but not entirely. Read on through the postscript if you have similar concerns and use the Comment of Forum facilities to have your say.
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Postscript
For me the slogan "Let right be done" is more redolent of Pentagon doublespeak than a clear call for justice in today’s world. "Honour Bound to Defend Freedom", for example, is the motto of the Joint Task Force responsible for detaining prisoners of the war in Afghanistan and/or the war against terror at the Guantánamo Bay facility in Cuba. And, yet to be seen in Wellington (but produced by Centrepoint a couple of years ago), Guantanamo: Honour Bound to Defend Freedom is a Tricycle Theatre-commissioned play by journalist Victoria Brittain and novelist Gillian Slovo that demonstrates in a very immediate context how easily basic principles of justice disappear in the name of freedom.

Dean Parker’s Baghdad Baby! also springs to mind. When it premiered at BATS in 2005 I described it as an "ingenious take on occupied Iraq, post Saddam but pre ‘liberation’ … in turn insightful, humorous, sardonic, heart-warming, heart-rending and spine chilling." [NBR, 12 August 2005]. Now Dean is adapting Kafka’s The Trial, commissioned by Stephen Bain for production in Auckland then Wellington (subject presumably to project funding), relating it directly to the Ahmed Zaoui situation. Its commentary on a state that assumes infallibility and thus denies natural justice is a very different approach to the same issues The Winslow Boy deals with.

What chance is there that Circa or Downstage will pick up the Wellington season? Must under-resourced co-operatives always be the ones to stage such theatre while the recurrently funded organisations continue to cosset us in our comfort zones?
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In 1945 Terence Rattigan wrote The Winslow Boy as a bet. He bet a friend that he could write a play about a famous trial which fascinated him in the style of a tightly structured Edwardian drawing-room drama with startling revelations and reversals, dramatic curtain lines, obligatory scenes, and all wrapped up with an important social theme; in other words, an old-fashioned well-made play.

In six weeks Rattigan turned, with only some minor changes to the historical facts, the 1908 case of Archer Shee v Rex into The Winslow Boy, in which 14 year-old Ronnie Winslow, a cadet at the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, is accused of stealing a five shilling postal note.

Arthur Winslow believes in his son’s innocence and takes the case, at great cost to himself and his family, all the way to the House of Commons for a Petition of Right before the case can be heard in court. He hires the best and most expensive lawyer of the day, Sir Robert Morton (Sir Edward Carson in the Archer Shee case) to defend his son.

With all the action taking place in the drawing room of the Winslow’s Kensington home (solidly realized in period detail in John Hodgkins’s wood-panelled set), which sometimes makes it feel like a Greek tragedy with the off-stage drama in the court and the Commons being reported rather then seen, Rattigan is able to concentrate on his theme of fundamental human rights ("Let right be done") and the physical, financial, and spiritual costs individuals pay – and still, of course, pay today.

Ross Jolly’s production is a solid, dependable rendering of Rattigan’s straightforward play which held the opening night audience in rapt attention throughout. He is by and large well served by his cast with Jeffrey Thomas nicely underplaying Arthur Winslow’s gritty determination of a David taking on Goliath in contrast with the more flamboyant but no less determined believer in right and justice K.C. Kelly’s magisterial Sir Robert Morton.

Kate Prior as Catherine Winslow, Ronnie’s older sister, also subtly underplays the suffragette who is strongly opposed to the "cold-blooded, supercilious fish" she believes Sir Robert Morton to be, and Stephen Gledhill, who plays Desmond, the family friend and lawyer who is in love with Catherine, creates sympathy for an unsympathetic character.

Felix Sampson plays Ronnie with aplomb (Nick Fenton will alternate the role), and Jude Gibson as his mother is a strong presence as is Gavin Rutherford as Catherine’s fiancé, though his military uniform in the second act is a bit if a disaster.

While Simon Vincent makes Dickie Winslow a juvenile lead and a member of the Drones Club and chum of Bertie Wooster and Danielle Mason as a journalist forces too knowingly the comic and satiric intent of her brief scene, the comedy that really does mix laughter with tears (on stage and in the audience) is beautifully performed by Emma Kinane as Violet, the Winslow’s maid, when she becomes the "Greek messenger" at the climax of the play.
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