Playwright A[lan] A[lexander] Milne (1882-1956) is now best known for his writing for children – Winnie the Pooh (1926), When We Were Very Young (1924), Now We Are Six (1927) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928). But before his success as a children’s author, he was also one of the most acclaimed playwrights of the period, often compared to J. M. Barrie, Arthur Wing Pinero and Oscar Wilde. He wrote eighteen plays including Mr Pim Passes By (1920) and The Dover Road (1922) which were huge hits in both the West End and Broadway, and his hugely popular and much revived adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, Toad of Toad Hall (1929). He often had several plays running simultaneously in London, New York and other countries with the leading actors of the day: John Gielgud, Gerald Du Maurier, Flora Robson, Irene Vanbrugh, and Leslie Howard.. The Observer noted in 1922 that Milne was ‘steadily monopolizing the theatres of the habited globe for the performances of his plays.’ He was also an Assistant Editor of Punch, and a novelist, much acclaimed for his detective novel, The Red House Mystery (1936) which is still in print. In the 1930s, Milne became a very public defender of pacifism – his Peace with Honour (1934) was one of the best-selling books of the year, and anticipated George Orwell in attacking the evils of totalitarianism. Yet despite the acclaim, A.A. Milne’s theatrical success came to be overshadowed by Winnie the Pooh, much to his annoyance. A.A. Milne died at the age of 74 in 1956, having become estranged from the son he had made famous, Christopher Robin.

Director David Gilmore has directed many West End productions including the original award-winning productions of Daisy Pulls It Off, Lend Me a Tenor, and The Hired Man, all produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. His production of Grease (Dominion, Cambridge and Victoria Palace Theatres) completed an almost unbroken UK run of 25 years, and has also played internationally. Other West End productions include Beyond Reasonable Doubt, starring Frank Finlay; Radio Times starring Tony Slattery; The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui starring Griff Rhys Jones; Neil Simon’s Chapter Two starring Tom Conti and Sharon Gless; Rick’s Bar Casablanca; Annie Get Your Gun; the Cole Porter revue A Swell Party; Out of the Blue; Fatal Attraction starring Susannah York; All The Fun Of The Fair; Sinatra at the London Palladium; and Defending the Caveman which won an Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. At the Finborough Theatre, he directed the first London production for over 75 years of St John Ervine’s Jane Clegg which won an OffWestEnd OnComm Award during lockdown. His countless other productions include Crimes of the Heart and Mandragola (National Theatre), Sir Anthony Quayle in Dandy Dick, Michael Frayn's Noises Off and Steel Magnolias (National Tours) and Noël Coward’s Cavalcade (Chichester Festival Theatre) with a cast of over two hundred. He has worked frequently worldwide including productions in Australia, Europe, China, the USA and Canada. David was Artistic Director of the Nuffield Southampton Theatres, the Watermill Theatre Newbury and the inaugural Artistic Director of the St. James Theatre (now The Other Palace).

Producer Andrew Maunder’s productions at the Finborough Theatre include the world premiere of Robert Graves’ But it Still Goes On, the first London production since 1944 of St John Ervine’s Jane Clegg, the first London productions since the 1920s of Kate O’Brien’s Distinguished Villa, and a triple bill of one-act plays: Gertrude Robbins’ Makeshifts and Realities, and H.M. Harwood’s Honour Thy Father. His most recent production was Sidney Howard’s The Silver Cord (1927) which received its first London production since 1927 in a critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Finborough Theatre in 2024. He also teaches at the University of Hertfordshire. He is the author of British Theatre and the Great War 1914-1919 (2016), R.C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End, A Guide (2017) and Enid Blyton. A Literary Life (2021).

‘A play that everyone must see, and which at once places its author conspicuous among the most successful dramatists now writing for the English-speaking stage.’ Theatre Magazine 

‘A work of art.’ The Times.

‘Brilliant satire… far and away the best thing Mr. Milne has done, and I found it quite the most interesting piece of new and original English work on our stage.’  Pall Mall Gazette.

‘A first-rate play…brilliant satirical drama.’ The Sketch.

‘Sharp and powerful…really interesting….brilliant.’ The Manchester Guardian.

‘Wittily written and well-observed.’  Theatre Arts Monthly.

‘It is excellent. It is so good.’ Evening News.

‘A droll examination of humorous rationalization and self-preservation.’ Back Stage.

‘A.A. Milne's comedy, has everything – humour, tragedy, suspense, romance, and unsurpassed delineation of character….This is a play to see’. Western Daily Mail.

‘A very interesting theme excellently worked out.’  The Daily Telegraph.

‘The best thing Mr. Milne has done.’  Civil and Military Gazette.

On The Silver Cord

‘Rare revival of Sidney Howard’s acidic portrayal of toxic family relationships is wickedly entertaining.’ ★★★★ The Stage.

‘The finest revival of any play all year.’ Fringe Review.

‘Magnificent mothering melodrama.’ ★★★★ London Pub Theatres.

‘Beautifully written, well-structured, totally engrossing, shocking, amusing.’ ★★★★★ London Theatre.

On Makeshifts and Realities, and Honour thy Father –

‘Both plays, beautifully and subtly executed, linger in the mind.’ ★★★★ London Pub Theatres Magazine.

‘Fine examples of the Finborough’s continuing genius in finding forgotten plays, applying the highest of technical standards to the production.’ ★★★★ The Arts’ Desk.

‘Carefully paced, finely detailed and beautifully acted.’ ★★★★ Reviews Hub.

On Distinguished Villa –

‘A thumping good play quite superbly acted and directed… as good a play as you will currently find In London.’ Michael Billington, Country Life.

‘A dark and angry play, as cross as Osborne in its way…real emotional chaos and tragedy.’ ★★★★ Libby Purves, Theatre Cat

‘Superbly acted and directed…a play not to be missed.’ ★★★★★ London Theatre.

‘This sparkling revival at the Finborough…a tremendous piece of writing.’ ★★★★ Reviews Hub.

On Jane Clegg, also directed by David Gilmore –

‘David Gilmore’s production is gripping and carefully controlled, suggesting Ervine’s intriguing drama has earned a place among the great writers of his day.’ ★★★★ Reviews Hub.