The Winslow Boy

Based on a real life 1908 case of Osborne Colleg cadet George Archer-Shee, this gripping drama is set against the backdrp of an England on the cusp of major social upheaval.

NAPA (Northern Academy of Performing Arts)

Anlaby Road, Hull, HU1 2PD

Saturday 24th, Sunday 25th and Friday 30th September

and Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October 2011

at 7.30 pm.

Tickets are £10 full, and £8 Concession (and parties of 10 or more)

from Hull Playgoers on Hull (01482) 657524

or NAPA Box Office on Hull (01482) 310690

Car Parking - after 6pm is available in the adjacent

Railway station  car park, behind the Royal Hotel, in Anlaby Road.

Play is a lesson in decorum

Preview by Will Ramsey, Hull Daily Mail 14th September 2011

There's a strict sense of decorum around Hull Playgoers' Society at the moment.

In this, the centenary year of Terrence Rattigan's birth, the group is performing the playwright's acclaimed drama The Winslow Boy.

Set during the early years of 20th century – and dealing with the ructions after a young naval cadet, Ronnie Winslow, is accused of theft – the cast is being drilled in the niceties of social etiquette.

"I keep saying trousers, trousers!" said Pam Quick, the director.

"I've been reminding the male cast members to pull their trousers up at the knees before they sit down.

"It is not something which is done these days but it was back then – in the same way that women were told not to let their hands hang by their sides, as it looked lazy. They were supposed to clasp them.

"The cast are having to learn a new way."

"It has been a lesson in deportment," said David Sandford, who stars as Ronnie's father, Arthur.

"It was something I had forgotten all about – when I was young it was something you did automatically."

The director and cast have been enjoying the sense of replaying a particular era in history as much as the twists of the plot.

Based on a true story – which became a nationally publicised court case in 1908 – the drama follows the redoubtable Arthur as it sets out to prove his son's innocence.

The events were dramatised by Rattigan in 1944, as he looked back at an England which, just prior to the First World War, was on the cusp of a major social upheaval.

Among those who rally to the cause is the Winslow's solicitor, Desmond Curry, who was once a famous cricketer.

His own slide from public recognition is an interesting counterpoint, Pam says, to today's cult of celebrity.

"Nowadays, you have this hero worship all the way through somebody's life – someone like Gary Lineker remains well- known long after he stopped playing football," said Pam.

The younger members of the cast – which include its star, 13-year-old Lawrence Reynolds – have also been getting use to the historical references, such as the pre-decimal money system, alongside its social niceties.

But Rattigan's skills ensures that the drama remains fresh.

"He creates real people," said Pam.

"He takes these scenarios and makes you live with those experiencing them – there is that meaning there for every single character."