Cause Célèbre
Cause Célèbre [1] is a 1977 play by Terence Rattigan. A play is based on the true and famous case of Alma Rattenbury, who in 1935 was charged, together with her teenage lover, with the murder of her husband who had been bludgeoned to death. First performed in London in 1977 just a few months before the dramatist’s death.
Contents
The original text
Cause Célèbre or A Woman of Principle was originally a radio play, first broadcast on the BBC on 27 October 1975. Rattigan was then commissioned to rewrite it into a stage play ready to be produced in Autumn 1976, but his terminal cancer and casting problems meant he was only able to start work in January 1977, alongside Robin Midgely. This stage version premiered on 4 July 1977 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. (Wikipedia)
Translations and adaptations
A 1987 television version of the stage play starred Helen Mirren as Alma.
Performance history in South Africa
Pieter Toetien and Shirley Firth theatre programme (undated).
Sources
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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