What begins as a small incident ultimately grows into a “cause celebre” nearly shaking the foundations of the government. The incident is simply that of a youngster in an English government school who is expelled for an alleged theft. As a matter of fact, the youngster was entirely innocent, but practically all the evidence was against him. The boy’s family, in particular his father, proceed to contest the decision of the school and challenge its right, as a government-run institution, to damage the reputation of a boy without sufficient legal safeguards. The issue that began as a private matter involves the right of official agencies to impose their authority on the individuals of any democracy and, as the play moves relentlessly forward, we see in effect citizens of a democracy challenging the forces of bureaucracy, and thus keeping alive the issue of the basic rights of the individual.

Winner of the 1948 New York Critics’ Award for Best Foreign Play. The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent: the case of Stonyhurst College alumnus George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet.

Please Note: The Winslow Boy contains mentions of suicide, and outdated language and attitudes.