The Winslow Boy

Summary: 1961 BBC production of Terence Rattigan’s The Winslow Boy.
Theatre play: The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) [more information]
Play synopsis: 'Set against the strict codes of conduct and manners of the age, The Winslow Boy is based on a father’s fight to clear his son’s name after the boy is expelled from Osborne Naval College for stealing a five-shilling postal order. To clear the boy’s name was imperative for the family’s honour; had they not done so, they would have been shunned by their peers and society. Similarly, the boy’s life would have been wrecked by an indelible stain on his character which would have followed him throughout adulthood. The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent: the case of Stonyhurst College alumnus George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet.' Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Winslow_Boy.
Production history: London premiere staged in 1946.
Date of transmission: Sunday 20 August 1961
Time: 7.55-9.25pm
Series: Sunday-Night Play
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Hal Burton

Playwright

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)

Designer

Hal Burton

Cast

Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: court-room drama; military / army / navy / air-force; schools, as theme or setting

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