Terence Rattigan’s devastating masterpiece contains one of the greatest female roles in contemporary drama.
Helen McCrory and director Carrie Cracknell reunite following the acclaimed Medea in 2014.
Final Performance 21 Sep 2016
Running Time: 2 hours 30 mins inc 20 min interval
Terence Rattigan’s devastating masterpiece contains one of the greatest female roles in contemporary drama.
Helen McCrory and director Carrie Cracknell reunite following the acclaimed Medea in 2014.
A flat in Ladbroke Grove, West London. 1952.
When Hester Collyer is found by her neighbours in the aftermath of a failed suicide attempt, the story of her tempestuous affair with a former RAF pilot and the breakdown of her marriage to a High Court judge begins to emerge. With it comes a portrait of need, loneliness and long-repressed passion.
Behind the fragile veneer of post-war civility burns a brutal sense of loss and longing.
Get the playtext from the National Theatre bookshop.
The actor reflects on the challenges and rewards of playing Hester Collyer in The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan.