TERENCE RATTIGAN

I have been editing, since the early nineties, a series of new editions of the plays of Terence Rattigan for Nick Hern Books. Each volume contains a general introduction to Rattigan’s work and an Introduction to the specific play which gives an account of its original production, key revivals, and offers some thoughts on the play itself. 

So far, we have published First Episode, French Without Tears, After the Dance, Flare Path, Less Than Kind/Love In Idleness, The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version & Harlequinade, Who Is Sylvia?/Duologue, The Deep Blue Sea, Separate Tables, In Praise of Love, and Cause Célèbre.

All of my introductions offer original perspectives and readings of the plays. Most of my editions are based on original research in the archives and there are some great discoveries about his work in those introductions: my edition of The Deep Blue Sea shows the evolution of the play through successive drafts; I am the first person to have discovered the first draft of Who is Sylvia? and a substantial series of notes by Rattigan on the meaning of the play. My edition of First Edition is a scholarly edition producing the first attempt ever at a definitive text, and it was subsequently performed in my version at the Jermyn Street Theatre. (I don’t think even Rattigan had one.) Our edition of Separate Tables published the ‘gay version’ for the first time and Cause Célèbre traces the long agonised development of the play from radio through to the stage with specific reference to archival drafts.

Rattigan’s centenary in 2011 was an opportunity for some new editions. We started early, with a second edition of After the Dance in 2010, taking in the National Theatre revival and resolving some anomalies in Rattigan’s text. We also published Flare Path and Cause Célèbre to coincide with productions at the Haymarket and Old Vic, respectively. We also did scholarly editions of First Episode, Less Than Kind/Love in Idleness, and Who is Sylvia?/Duologue. First Episode, Less Than Kind, and Duologue have never been published before. 

I’d like to do a few more, actually. I think a volume of his TV plays would be very interesting indeed. More of the unperformed scripts would be good. And of those left, I think When the Sun Shines, Ross and Man and Boy are the best of them. We’ll see.