Terence Rattigan
in full Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan
born June 10, 1911, London, Eng.
died Nov. 30, 1977, Hamilton, Bermuda
English playwright, a master of the
well-made play.
Educated at Harrow and Trinity College,
Oxford, Rattigan had early success with two
farces, French Without Tears (performed
1936) and While the Sun Shines (performed
1943). The Winslow Boy (performed 1946), a
drama based on a real-life case in which a
young boy at the Royal Naval College was
unjustly accused of theft, won a New York
Critics award. Separate Tables (performed
1945), perhaps his best known work, took as
its theme the isolation and frustration that
result from rigidly imposed social
conventions. Ross (performed 1960) explored
the life of T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and
was less traditional in its structure. A
Bequest to the Nation (performed 1970)
reviewed the intimate, personal aspects of
Lord Nelson’s life. The radio play Cause
Célèbre was his final work; first broadcast
in 1975, it was performed onstage in 1977.
Rattigan’s works were treated coldly by
some critics who saw them as unadventurous
and catering to undemanding, middle-class
taste. Several of his plays do seriously
explore social or psychological themes,
however, and his plays consistently
demonstrate solid craftsmanship. Rattigan
was knighted in 1971 for his services to the
theatre. He had many screenplays to his
credit, including film versions of The
Winslow Boy (1948) and Separate Tables
(1958), among others, and The Yellow Rolls
Royce (1965) and Goodbye Mr. Chips (1968).
