“If you enjoy Rattigan at all, you’ll love this… The wonder is it took so long. Geoffrey Beevers revives Merton Hodge’s 1933 The Wind and the Rain at Finborough, home of so many won causes, for the first London production in 80 years.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“This 4**** resurrection is stylishly directed by Geoffrey Beevers and the cast led by Joe Pitts…holds it together beautifully.” William Russell, ReviewsGate

“An outstanding must-see…The Wind and the Rain is the finest 20th century revival I’ve seen this year.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview “This intimate, well-written and well-performed period piece.” Secret Stage Reviews

“A thoroughly enjoyable two hours.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“The characters are warm and relatable, the script is funny, and the themes of love and finding your own way are just as relevant now as they were a hundred years ago.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

“Grippingly authentic.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“It’s always good to see a thoroughly popular piece from the past revived (this one ran for more than 1,000 performances in the West End before a six-month Broadway run, with a long afterlife in repertory, too).” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“The Wind and the Rain makes a welcome return after so many years.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

“This classic play is anything but dreich.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“A welcome foray into a forgotten hit of yesteryear.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“A fascinating insight to a bygone age.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“A meticulously revived period piece, designed with detail by Carla Evans.” Arifa Akbar, The Guardian

“Elevated by its performers, it’s an interesting revival of Merton Hodge’s work, with an acute relevance to the modern day.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“An easy, gentle evening where the strong cast’s performances elevate a sweet, simple story to one worthy of being revived.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

“You can tell this was written in the 1930s. It has charming touches which don’t exist in period dramas written in more modern times” Secret Stage Reviews

“It’s certainly a pleasure to see such a story being told on London’s stages again.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“It celebrates a neglected, forgotten playwright who had quite the knack for a witty response.” Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World

“Cast to perfection.” Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide

“Excellent performances.” Miriam Sallon, The Spy in the Stalls

“Excellent performances.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“The cast are a great ensemble and play off each other well.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“The secret of our absorption lies in the acting.” Barbara Lewis, London Grip

“This wonderful young ensemble.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“The whole cast gleam with truth.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Led by Joe Pitts in a standout role as Tritton.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“Joe Pitts leads the cast as Charles Tritton, with an arresting performance.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“Joe Pitts, excellent.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“Pitts is superb.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Naomi Preston-Low, also excellent.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“You absolutely believe in her and Pitts; their chemistry pulses in this intimate space.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Preston-Low and Pitts glow with first love.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Preston-Low develops the character over the five year timespan perfectly.” Secret Stage Reviews

“Jenny Lee’s Mrs McFie is wonderfully odd.” Miriam Sallon, The Spy in the Stalls

“Played with delightful dryness by Jenny Lee.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“Jenny Lee, pitch-perfect.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“The excellent Jenny Lee.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“A definite highlight of the show comes in the shape of second-act Jill, portrayed by Helen Reuben.” Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World

“Played with sparking joie de vivre by Helen Reuben.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“Jill, played by Helen Reuben, is a treat.” Miriam Sallon, The Spy in the Stalls

“Reuben brings out some of the show’s best humour and a steely edge.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“Helen Reuben does a marvellous job.” Secret Stage Reviews

Helen Reuben “A champagne-cork of a performance.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

Helen Reuben “She’s quite wonderful and lights up the stage whenever she’s on.” AJH, AJHLovesTheatre

“Two brilliant performances from Helen Reuben and Naomi Preston-Low.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“Roger, played by Lynton Appleton, is another highlight.” Miriam Sallon, The Spy in the Stalls

“Played with devilish comedy by Lynton Appleton.” Libby Purves, TheatreCat

“Appleton commands the …It’s a fine performance” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“The excellent David Furlong as Dr Paul Duhamel.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“David Furlong charms.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“There are a handful of delectable performances, spearheaded by Mark Lawrence as the charming posh rascal Gilbert.” Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World

“Geoffrey Beevers’ direction places us firmly in the period and engrosses us…on Carla Evans’ welcoming and detailed set.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“The triumph of director Geoffrey Beevers’ revival of The Wind and the Rain is that he makes us instead realise our modern conditioning has come at the price of more thoughtful pleasures.” Barbara Lewis, London Grip

“The direction is classy.” Lizzy Loveridge, Theatre Vibe

“Director Geoffrey Beevers’ impeccable work.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“Beevers is sensitive to undercurrents, possibilities of forbidden love.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Beautifully staged.” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“There is a terrific set by Carla Evans, one of the best the Finborough has had in ages.” William Russell, ReviewsGate

“Designed and styled by Carla Evans, the revival feels authentically stopped in time.” Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World

“Beautifully set here in Geoffrey Beevers’ production with Carla Evans’ design painstakingly careful.” Libby Purves, TheatreCat

“Carla Evans’s striking drawing-room.” Simon Jenner, FringeReview UK

“Carla Evans’s brown set (and costumes) is so realistic—fireplace, stag’s head, coal scuttle, side dresser, gramophone, armchair, central dining table and four chairs—I fear we are intruding.” Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide

“The intimate space immerses the audience in Carla Evans wonderfully detailed set.” Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly

“Meticulously designed living room set by Carla Evans.” Anya Ryan, The Stage

“Carla Evans provides a warmly observed, richly detailed set.” AJH, AJHLovesTheatre

“The design beautiful.” Lizzy Loveridge, Theatre Vibe

“Beautifully costumed (Carla Evans, set and costume designer one of the stars of this one).” David Weir, London Pub Theatres Magazine

“Richard Williamson’s lights enclose the traverse with a gloomy, cloudy atmosphere that simulates the Scottish weather well.” Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World

“Edward Lewis’s evocative sound designs… is a valuable component.” AJH, AJHLovesTheatre

“The Finborough has a very canny eye for unearthing lost plays.” Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor

“It’s hard to go wrong with the revivals that make up part of the exciting programming at Neil McPherson’s west London venue. The chance to see moments of theatrical history, always produced to the highest standard, is a great opportunity. This first London revival in 80 years of a smash hit from 1933 fits the bill perfectly.” Edward Lukes, Once A Week Theatre

“Worthy addition to the Finborough's impresssive list of plays rediscovered.” William Russell, ReviewsGate

“This revival, directed by Geoffrey Beevers at an unhurried pace, is a credit to Finborough’s Neil McPherson, excavator of neglected plays, of which there are many more to come.” Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide

“The Finborough’s Neil McPherson and his team have a strong record of finding and reviving gems and letting them shine again.” Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor

“The Finborough Theatre is not your run-of-the-mill theatre.” Secret Stage Reviews

“With possibly the most interesting programming structure in all of London.” Raphael Kohn, All That Dazzles

“I look forward to seeing what else the Finborough Theatre rediscovers over the coming months.” Dave B, Everything Theatre

Playwright Merton Hodge (1903-1958) was a playwright, actor and medical practitioner. Born in Taruheru, Poverty Bay, Aotearoa/New Zealand, he graduated as a doctor from Otago Medical School in 1928, and completed his postgraduate studies at Edinburgh University which inspired the setting for The Wind and the Rain. Hodge combined his playwriting career with the busy life of a working doctor. An Australian newspaper wrote, “By day he works as an anesthetist in a big hospital at Hyde Park Corner: at night he has been writing plays which are the success of the season.” His other plays include Grief Goes Over, starring Dame Sybil Thorndike (Globe Theatre), an anglicised adaptation of Sidney Kingsley’s Men In White (Lyric Theatre), The Orchard Walls (St James Theatre), The Island, written with actor Godfrey Tearle (Comedy Theatre), The Story of An African Farm from Olive Schreiner's novel (New Theatre, now the Noël Coward Theatre), To Whom We Belong and Once There Was Music (Q Theatre, Kew). Hodge mingled in bohemian and theatrical circles, partying with Ivor Novello, Noël Coward and Tallulah Bankhead. He lived with actor Geoffrey Wardwell in Ebury Street, close to Noël Coward. In 1952, Hodge returned to Aotearoa/New Zealand, married the mother of his child, and settled in Dunedin. He committed suicide by drowning near Dunedin six years later.

Director Geoffrey Beevers returns to the Finborough Theatre where he directed an acclaimed production of John Galsworthy’s Windows. Other Direction includes The Middlemarch Trilogy - Dorothea’s Story, The Doctor’s Story and Fred and Mary, Audience, Adam Bede for which he won a Time Out Award, The Beggars Opera, Silas Marner, The Neighbours and Pere Goriot (Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond), Adam Bede (Derby Playhouse and Theatre Royal York), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Arms and the Man and Mrs Warren’s Profession (Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and The Country Wife and The Case of Rebellious Susan (Drama Studio London). His original plays for theatre include Steak and Microchips and The Story of Jude. Adaptations for theatre include Adam Bede which won a Time Out Award, Pere Goriot, Silas Marner, The Middlemarch Trilogy. Original writing for radio includes Steak and Microchips, The Story of Jude and Unintelligent Design. Other plays for radio include an adaptation of Turgenev's Rudin, and drama documentaries on Gerard Manley Hopkins, James McNeil Whistler, and George Eliot. He has written four novels, The Progress Road, The Forgotten Fields, Superseeds and The Withdrawal, all published by Fantom Publishing. Primarily known as an actor, he has made hundreds of appearances across theatre, television, film and radio, including Amadeus (National Theatre), The Audience (West End and Broadway) and The Heresy of Love (Royal Shakespeare Company), and playing The Master in Doctor Who opposite Tom Baker.

“Highly entertaining, The Wind and the Rain has a quiet strength and unforced reality, which makes it both absorbing and truly amusing.” Daily Mirror

“One of the most charming love stories ever told on the stage, romance and comedy are skilfully blended.” The Star. “Enchanting…A charming play, The Wind and the Rain has the first-hand observation and freshness of characterisation of Journey’s End and for the same reasons, for both authors have written of what they know.” News Chronicle

“A delightfully acted and interestingly written first play.” Daily Herald

“The Wind and the Rain is new proof that some doctors make fine dramatists.” Reynolds News
“A charmingly simple (in the complimentary sense) of student life in Edinburgh with a serious thread running through it. Mr Merton Hodge is a new name to me. If this is his first play, he has a future before him.” Truth

“One of the freshest and most attractive works to be seen…for several years…full of humour and humanity.” The Star
“What gives the play its warmth and charm is the reticent naturalness in Merton Hodge’s writing.” Time

★★★★★ Five Stars, The Reviews Hub
★★★★★ Five Stars, London-Olio
★★★★★ Five Stars, ActDrop
★★★★ Four Stars, The Guardian
★★★★ Four Stars, London Pub Theatres
★★★★ Four Stars, Everything Theatre
★★★★ Four Stars, Reviews Gate
★★★★ Four Stars, Paul In London

“Geoffrey Beevers’ production of a little-known play about the moral fissures within an upper middle-class family is a razor-sharp take on a quietly subversive work.” Michael Billington, The Guardian

“Geoffrey Beevers' stylishly fluent and welcome revival brings John Galsworthy's still provocative play out of the shadows of theatrical history to spark debate and be enjoyed in equal measure.” Peter Brown, ActDrop

“This production, confidently directed by Geoffrey Beevers, ensures that we leave questioning whether ideals like liberty, equality and democracy are still worth fighting for today.” Richard Maguire, The Reviews Hub

“Let’s hope on the back of this thoughtful and exceptional production we see a few more plays by this overlooked playwright.” Richard Maguire, The Reviews Hub

“The prevailing trend in our theatrical culture at the moment is for new writing and after that comes radical rethinkings of the classics. But where does that leave straight revivals of lesser-known British works? The National Theatre is certainly not fulfilling that part of its remit, to the detriment of the entire theatrical ecosystem. Thank goodness the plucky Finborough valiantly continues on this lonely but worthy path.” Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard