The Winslow Boy: Director’s Q&A with Jenny Brown

Terence Rattigan’s The Winslow Boy opens at Wokingham Theatre in October, based on the true story of a famous Edwardian court case involving a 13-year-old boy wrongfully accused of theft. 

We sat down with Director Jenny Brown to hear how she has found her first production at WT, why she believes in living and breathing every project she takes on, and what she sees as the universal themes contained within this beloved play.

Without giving away the whole plot, tell us about The Winslow Boy.

The Winslow Boy is about a middle-class family with a son at military college, who has been accused of stealing a postal order. His name is Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Winslow and he’s 13. He has been interviewed by the ‘powers that be’ seemingly deemed guilty and he’s expelled from the college. His father and sister are irate to see that he had no family representation, that he had no one to stand with him, and that he deserved the same rights as any adult would have had. 

Mr Winslow puts in a complaint to the college, which is thrown out, but picked up by the media and the story becomes bigger as the father defies a Reforming government by fighting for the rights of his son with their family solicitor Desmond Curry. They succeeded in securing a high ranking and expensive barrister, Sir Robert, who succeeds in getting Parliament to suspend a debate on Naval rearmament to discuss compensation for the Naval cadet!  A vindication of Democracy in the face of State bureaucracy. The fight to have his case heard in court in order that it should never happen again, that a boy should be without any representation. Hence having the finest legal minds in the country fighting his corner in a ‘Petition of Right’ against the Crown. The whole play is built around having his name cleared and the final confrontation leaves the audience wondering about the real ending of the story.

So, is it based on a true story?

Yes, it is ‘The Archer-Shee’ case, and there has never been another case like it in legal history.

When is it set?

It’s not specific in the script, other than saying it is set a few years before the First World War. The script mentions rumblings in Europe, in 1912 we had the Titanic sinking and 1913 is possibly too close to the outbreak of war, so we have settled for around 1911. The writing really probes the class structure of this generation and the comfort of certainty in the days before World War One. I think it is very interesting, because between 1910 and 1912 there was such an upsurgence of middle-class prosperity. 

Also, there is much about the media of the time in 1911, the spin on truth and falsehood being sold by the press, journalists clamouring at the door, phone calls ringing, telegrams, letters being penned to The Times, which was the communication of the age.

How did it become a play?

Terence Rattigan was a collector of famous court cases, and he used to have soirees with his glamorous friends and associates, where he would act them out. He always took the lead, of course, as he was very debonair, very suave, incredibly handsome and very elegant, as he was so wealthy by this point. 

At one of these events, a friend made a bet with him to write a play about a court case of their choosing.  This one, a deliberate choice, because it was really all about just one person, and they thought it would be a huge challenge. All Rattigan had to work from was the story of this one boy, the flamboyant Barrister and the court case itself. He then built in all the fictitious characters and allowed them to create their own story of the court action. Rattigan felt it would not work using a courtroom setting, so he set it instead in the home of the Winslow Family.

Tell us more about the characters, who are we going to meet onstage?

Rattigan’s plays have an enduring quality that reflect hidden depths of pain in his characters. In Ronnie’s parents, we see echoes of Rattigan’s own. 

Arthur Winslow is fiercely protective of his family and is determined to fight for his son, causing great hardship to the whole family who are very comfortable middle class at the start of the play. Then of course we have this pain of Arthur, the father figure, he knows what he is putting his family through, all because of this decision to ‘Let Right Be Done’. 

Grace, married to Arthur for over 30 years, is an elegant lady of her era, beautifully dressed, she has been educated in the finer things, being the daughter of an aristocrat. She is another of the victims, long suffering because of the court battle with growing anxiety for her husband’s declining health and finances.

Catherine, the daughter, is celebrating her engagement at the beginning of the play but because of the attention around the case she is jilted. She is educated, very intelligent, highly intellectual, and a suffragette, but now as an unmarried woman, she is not fit for anything. The class culture that confines and surrounds women of that time leaves them unable to work and so what is she good for? She’s 29 and feels the stirring of knowing she should be married but, as father used all the family money on this court case, he can’t provide an adequate dowry and the spotless reputation due to her. She must bear this personal pain.

Dickie, the eldest son, has lost the opportunity to study at Oxford as his father is unable to pay the fees. Dickie feels resentment towards his younger sibling that has robbed his chance of a better future.

John Watherstone, from a military family and engaged to Catherine, is pressured by the scandal of the court case into jilting his love.

Desmond Curry, the family solicitor and frequent visitor to the Winslow house, is secretly in love with Catherine.

Violet, the house maid of over 20 years has an unconventional role in the house and has a familiarity with the family that would be frowned on in Proper Circles. She is fiercely loyal to the family and has a tenderness towards Ronnie.

Sir Robert Morton, his public persona is effortless; he is unfailingly cool with impeccable manners as a dynamic barrister. However, this concealed a much less confident and tormented private person.  This is revealed in the latter stages of the play.

One or two other characters from the Press make a lively appearance too!

Rattigan was a master of exploring and exposing the depth of relationships by looking at the love, friendships and relationships of those close to him, and then translating those key emotions into his characters. His format is always that people are unique in themselves, they have possibilities and a future beyond the play.

What are some of the themes of the play?

There’s a breaking out of class, making connections in the strata of society. It’s about love, friendships, relationships to people, seeing people as they really are, rather than the class they display.

The power of this play comes from the implicit unspoken feelings of emotion and truth. Today if someone upsets you, you are likely to know as they would likely tell you, but in the 1900s communication was through a look, a hand gesture, or even the wave of a fan. I’ve tried to incorporate that restraint. Which is why it’s hard to do this play, because so much emotion is internalised. 

This is your first time directing at Wokingham Theatre, having been involved in other local theatre companies for over 20 years. How have you found directing here?

It’s been the most wonderful exposure to the way Wokingham Theatre works. To have three weeks rehearsing on stage is such a joy, although of course all the moves we’ve carefully constructed in rehearsal must be relooked at once we get it on stage. 

We’ve had a long rehearsal process, because that’s the way I like to work. I like the characters to grow and develop organically. Actors contribute to what we’re doing, (and I like to do a warmup at every rehearsal!). I think people have invested in that way of working now. What drives me is the core of this play; the characters can only come to life with week-in-week-out discussion. All the fantastic work being done on creating the set, costumes, props, lighting, sound etc, they’re all the bookends to support what the actors are doing as everything comes from the text, and that’s what I love, a dynamic of minds that are focused on bringing the play to life.

I live and breathe every production I am involved with, whether that is a play, a musical or even a one-acter for one night, I don’t think you can do a show justice unless you do that.  I’m only as good as the people around me, so I value the cast and crew enormously. Everywhere I look, I’ve got just the right people! 

How do you want the audience to feel watching this play?

When they sit down, they’re going to be amazed by the set and the visuals, of course. But they must have a willingness to invest in what’s about to unfold. They must work a bit, as there’s a lot of information, which is not there to bore people, but to bring them back to where the truth is. I want the audience to feel involved. There are a lot of words to take in, but by the time they get to Act 2 Scene 2, they’ve still got to be wanting more. Otherwise, the play hasn’t done its job, and I’ve not done my job. It is such clever writing and It’s such a privilege to have a creative part in this play. 

But the important thing I want people to take away is this sense of the ‘Petition of Right’ a legal term that still stands in Law today. “Let Right be done”, as it says in the play. It makes me emotional, because everyone should have the right to be heard. In this present day and age, everyone is talking but we’re not all listening. Everyone has the right to be heard, and that is what I hope the audiences take away from it. 

That ‘Right’ must still be available for those who don’t have a voice, and that’s why this story still resonates almost 80 years after it was written. This play is about the voice of the individual.

The Winslow Boy opens at Wokingham Theatre on Wednesday 15 October and runs until Saturday 25 October. There are still tickets available, which you can purchase here.