Arthur Milner is an acclaimed Canadian playwright and theatre director. Born in Frankfurt, West Germany, the son of Jewish refugees, Milner emigrated with his parents to Montreal, where his father, an active Zionist, was president of their local synagogue. His published plays include Learning to Live with Personal Growth, 1997, Zero Hour, Crusader of the World, The City, It’s Not a Country, It’s Winter, Masada and Facts which toured the West Bank and Israel in an Arabic translation in September 2012. He has a long association with the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa, Canada, where he was Resident Playwright and subsequently Artistic Director. He has worked in play development for the Manitoba Association of Playwrights, the Banff Playwrights Colony and Playwrights Workshop Montreal; and has taught at Canada's National Theatre School, Montreal’s Concordia University, and at the University of Ottawa and Carleton in Ottawa. His articles on social, economic and arts issues have appeared in Saturday Night and The Globe and Mail, and he is a member of the editorial board of Inroads, A Journal of Opinion. He is also a past President of the Canadian Association of Professional Theatres.

Caitlin McLeod returns to the Finborough Theatre where she has directed two critically acclaimed sell out productions – the GB premiere of Stewart Parker’s Northern Star, and the world premiere of Naomi Wallace's And I And Silence, which she also directed as a reading for Vibrant 2010 – An Anniversary Festival of Finborough Playwrights and the Public Theater, New York City. A winner of the prestigious Buzz Goodbody award for Best Director, other direction includes One Short Sleepe (South Bank Literary Festival) and Elephant's Graveyard (Warwick Arts Centre). She was Trainee Director at the Royal Court Theatre from 2011-2012, where she directed Mahua (New Plays From India reading series) and Love, Love, Love (Mousson d'ete Festival, France), and was Assistant Direction on Haunted Child, In Basildon, Love, Love, Love and Love and Information. Other Assistant Direction includes the upcoming Strange Interlude (National Theatre), Hamlet (Shakespeare's Globe) and The Talented Mr Ripley (Royal and Derngate Theatres, Northampton).

Time Out Critics’ Choice
★★★★ Four Stars, Everything Theatre
★★★★ Four Stars, Time Out
★★★★ Four Stars, Financial Times

“A deservedly brilliant UK premiere.” Stewart Pringle, Time Out

“Intensely theatrical…An intense psychological drama, a meticulous police procedural, a history lesson, and a debate encompassing key aspects of the Israel-Palestine conundrum – Canadian playwright Arthur Milner fits all these into a high-energy ninety minutes. And a sensitive director and a cast who hold nothing back capture all the play's power in a flawless production.” Gerald Berkowitz, Theatre Guide London

“A gripping play with three great performances that both gives us a whodunnit and makes the Israeli-Palestinian problem more tangible than anything heard from a political pundit.” Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

“It has a hurtling pace, and sears across you like lightning.” Giles Cole, Whatsonstage.com

“‘Facts’ is a shard of mirror angled at the West Bank, ragged and visibly incomplete, it nonetheless contains a miniature reflection of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is striking in its lucidity.” Stewart Pringle, Time Out

“Facts offers laughs as well as shocks and moments of real menace…If you have any kind of interest in the politics of religion and man then this production should not be missed.” Dan Phillips, Bargain Theatreland

“It’s a powerful piece that digs deep and suggests that greater humanity might serve us better than fighting over facts.” Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

“Consistently fascinating and morbidly absorbing throughout its 80 minute running time.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

“The Finborough’s intimate space…is both appropriate and frustrating. Appropriate as the small numbers and proximity to the cast ensure that the sheer intensity of the production is sustained, and frustrating because Facts really ought to be seen by as many people as possible.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

“Facts is a testament to just how powerful fringe theatre can be; it’s a play that deserves a bigger audience but would feel out of place in any larger auditorium…it’s a privilege to see this production, so don’t deprive yourself of the chance to see it.” Andrew Crane, Whats Peen Seen

“Renowned Canadian playwright Arthur Milner’s Facts has its European premiere at the wonderful Finborough Theatre…this engaging piece is finely written and superbly produced.” Edward Lukes, The London Magazine

“An extraordinary, marvellous play…an intense, multi-layered production…Superb acting and direction keep the tension up all the way to the end.” Penny Flood, FulhamSW6

“This isn’t a play for anybody who isn’t prepared to be challenged with new ways of looking at the world. But those people who think it’s one of the duties of theatre to open up new ideas and suggest different ways of thinking about things will appreciate it.” Penny Flood, FulhamSW6

“It is a relief to watch a production in which the Muslim character does not play the hostile bad guy, terrorist, or the closet suicide bomber who nice on the outside, but on the inside secretly plotting to blow up the Pentagon.” Amelia Smith, Middle East Monitor

“It is the first time one of this Canadian playwright’s plays has been staged in Britain. On this evidence I want to see more.” Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

“Milner’s writing is equally impressive….The writing is poignant and bold.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

“How do you tackle the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Most British dramatists, with the striking exception of David Hare in Via Dolorosa, shy away from it. But Canadian playwright Arthur Milner has had the bold idea of confronting some of the key issues in the form of a 90-minute police procedural; and, even if it can't cover the whole territory, the result is undeniably tense.” Michael Billington, The Guardian

“Canadian playwright Arthur-Milner’s politically charged UK debut. And what a debut; Facts is as nerve-racking as they come, blending a highly intelligent script with a tension that grips like a vice, it’s both exhilarating and poignant.” Andrew Crane, Whats Peen Seen

“Two beautifully matched performances.” Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

“Superbly realised by Philip Arditti, Michael Feast and Paul Rattray.” Giles Cole, Whatsonstage.com

“It is impossible to rank the multifaceted, uninhibited and equally excellent performances of Philip Arditti (Palestinian), Michael Feast (Israeli) and Paul Rattray (suspect).” Gerald Berkowitz, Theatre Guide London.

“The fine cast of three keep the focus tight and the tension high: Philip Arditti’s cool, contained Khalid contrasts nicely with Michael Feast’s wiry, impassioned Yossi and Paul Rattray’s stubborn, supercilious Danny.” Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

“The cast is routinely excellent and not a word is wasted in Arthur Milner's gripping and thought-provoking script.” Robert Cumber, Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle

“The cast is better than rock solid, with their terrifyingly brilliant characterisation matched only by their ability to play off each other.” Andrew Crane, Whats Peen Seen

“Paul Rattray is sinisterly compelling” as Danny. Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide

“Paul Rattray is thoroughly engrossing as Danny, providing a measured performance that manages to be both controlled and frantic.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

“Paul Rattray gives a sterling performance.” Edward Lukes, The London Magazine

“Arditti and Feast play both sides of the coin with brilliant, venomous attention.”  Jonathan Watson, The Stage

“Arditti's superbly judged performance adds considerably to the tension.” Annegret Maerten, One Stop Arts

“Philip Arditti is enthralling.” Edward Lukes, The London Magazine

“Both Arditti and Feast create a fantastic, tolerate connection between the two detectives, Arditti portraying the calm but tired realist and Feast, the tense and menacing atheist.” Dan Phillips, Bargain Theatreland

“Arditti and Feast build up a fascinating relationship both in their characters' essential similarities and differences, and in the humour that pervades Caitlin McLeod's production.” Partially Obstructed View

“It is the truly spellbinding performance from Michael Feast that makes the piece.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

Michael Feast “One of the most powerful individual performances I have seen at the theatre for a long time.” Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre

“A powerful, erratic central performance from Michael Feast.” Stewart Pringle, Time Out

“Director Caitlin McLeod lets the pressure build gradually, until Georgia Lowe’s superb thrust design feels like an airlock.” Stewart Pringle, Time Out

“After helping the Finborough on its way to The Stage’s fringe award in 2011 with And I And Silence, Caitlin McLeod is back with a belter of politically charged drama.” Jonathan Watson, The Stage

“Skilfully directed by Caitlin McLeod.” Carolin Kopplin, UK Theatre Network

“Milner’s play, in a taut and volatile production by Caitlin McLeod, proves gripping.” Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

“Georgia Lowe’s set is of the highest standard and the fantastic intimacy of the venue means that the focus is very much on the performers.” Edward Lukes, The London Magazine