Drawing the Line is a 2013 play by Howard Brenton, centred on Cyril Radcliffe and his part in the partition of India in 1947. It premiered from 3 December 2013 to 11 January 2014, in a production directed by Howard Davies at London's Hampstead Theatre. [1]
Set in 1947, the play tells the story of Cyril Radcliffe and the boundary commission for the Punjab portion of the eponymous Radcliffe Line. “Ignorant of India, mathematics or map-reading, the principled Radcliffe finds himself the victim of despair, as well as Delhi belly, and enmeshed in a whole series of escalating conflicts.” [2]
The debut run of the play was completely sold out. Thousands of people from more than 80 countries also tuned in to watch the final performance streamed on the web in association with The Guardian . [3]
Reviews [4] were generally positive though there were critiques of some embellishments to the story. Compliments included "brilliantly staged", [5] "absorbing", [6] and "giv[ing] a vivid picture of the pressures of the time". [2] Criticisms included that the play "fails to soar" [7] and "brushes the boundaries of caricature". [8] In a review for The Independent , Paul Taylor praised the "lucid, elegant production" and said "Not all of it works (the handling of Gandhi feels stilted) but it's a fascinating play which views colonial culpability from an unexpected and singularly revealing angle." [9]
The set design, by Tim Hatley, drew particular praise. Louise Burns, reviewing its online screening in April 2020, gave the 2014 production four stars. She said: "Hatley’s clever set design uses tall, patterned wood partitions to indicate a world of India and aside from strategically placed desks, chairs and props the space is sparse, allowing the story to unfold through precise acting and sharply constructed dialogue." [10] In a four-starred review for the Financial Times , Sarah Hemming said: "Brenton is a masterly storyteller and the play expertly draws you into the maelstrom. Howard Davies’s skilful production, focused on the interiors (suggested by designer Tim Hatley through elegant filigree screens) in which the decisions will be made, makes you constantly aware of the turbulence outside". [11]
Reviewing the 2020 online screening for The Arts Desk, Marianka Swain said that "The fleet-footed, elegant production is marshalled by the late Howard Davies, who maintains a fluidity to this series of short scenes by stressing the claustrophobia of the trapped Radcliffe, hemmed in by giant filigree screens (evocative design by Tim Hatley). Davies also strikes exactly the right tone for this dark farce: simultaneously ridiculous and horrifying." [12]
In a live webchat, Howard Brenton answered questions about his acclaimed play and his career. Defending his portrayal of Cyril Radcliffe as a man who struggled with his conscience, Brenton said “There were clues that Radcliffe had a dark night of the soul in the bungalow: he refused to accept his fee, he did collect all the papers and draft maps, took them home to England and burnt them. And he refused to say a word, even to his family, about what happened. My playwright’s brain went into overdrive when I discovered these details.” [13]
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor, best known for playing Harry Potter in the Harry Potter film series. Born and raised in London, Radcliffe made his acting debut at age 10 in the BBC One television film David Copperfield (1999), followed by his feature film debut in The Tailor of Panama (2001). The same year, he starred in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Over the subsequent ten years, he played the titular role in seven sequels, culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). During this period, Radcliffe became one of the world's highest-paid actors, gained worldwide fame, popularity, and critical acclaim, and received many accolades for his performances in the series.
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for each other. Its second act love scene was nearly censored in Britain as too risqué. Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, "Some Day I'll Find You", for the play.
Sir David Hare is an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director. Best known for his stage work, Hare has also enjoyed great success with films, receiving two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for writing The Hoursin 2002, based on the novel written by Michael Cunningham, and The Readerin 2008, based on the novel of the same name written by Bernhard Schlink.
Cyril John Radcliffe, 1st Viscount Radcliffe, was a British lawyer and Law Lord best known for his role in the partition of British India. He served as the first chancellor of the University of Warwick from its foundation in 1965 to 1977.
The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcation line between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab and Bengal provinces of British India. It was named after its architect, Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissions for the two provinces, received the responsibility to equitably divide 175,000 square miles (450,000 km2) of territory with 88 million people.
Howard John Brenton FRSL is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Churchill, and David Hare.
Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre.
The partition of India and the associated bloody riots inspired many creative minds in India and Pakistan to create literary/cinematic depictions of this event. While some creations depicted the massacres during the refugee migration, others concentrated on the aftermath of the partition in terms of difficulties faced by the refugees in both side of the border. Even now, more than 60 years after the partition, works of fiction and films are made that relate to the events of partition.
Stephen Howard Davies, was a British theatre and television director.
The India–Pakistan Border, known locally as the International Border (IB), is an international border running between Pakistan and India. The border runs from the Line of Control (LoC), which separates Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistani-administered Kashmir in the north, to Sir Creek in Rann of Kutch between the Indian state of Gujarat and the Sindh province of Pakistan in the south.
James Edward Carter is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Downton Abbey (2010–2015) playing Mr Carson, a role that has earned him four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2012–2015). He reprised his role in the feature film Downton Abbey (2019).
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE was an English actor. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.
Magnificence is a 1973 play by English playwright Howard Brenton. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and was next performed on the London stage in 2016, at the Finborough Theatre.
Tim Hatley is a British set and costume designer for theater and film. He is the winner of the Tony Award for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design.
Bloody Poetry is a 1984 play by Howard Brenton centring on the lives of Percy Shelley and his circle.
Lucy Bailey is a British theatre director, known for productions such as Baby Doll at Britain's National Theatre and a notorious Titus Andronicus which had many members of the audience fainting. Bailey founded the Gogmagogs theatre-music group (1995–2006) and was Artistic Director and joint founder of the Print Room theatre in West London (2010-2012). She has worked extensively with Bunny Christie and other leading stage designers, including her husband William Dudley.
55 Days is an English history play by Howard Brenton, centred on the trial and execution of Charles I of England following the English Civil War. It premiered at the Hampstead Theatre from 18 October to 24 November 2012, in a production directed by Howard Davies and featuring Mark Gatiss as Charles, Douglas Henshall as Oliver Cromwell, Gerald Kyd as John Lilburne and Simon Kunz as Lord Fairfax.
Sunny Afternoon is a jukebox musical with music and lyrics by Ray Davies and a book by Joe Penhall. Based on the formation and career of the English rock band The Kinks, the musical made its world premiere in 2014, at the Hampstead Theatre, London, before transferring to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre. Featuring songs by The Kinks, Sunny Afternoon includes their hits such as "Lola", "Waterloo Sunset", "You Really Got Me" and the musical's title song, "Sunny Afternoon".
Lawrence After Arabia is a 2016 play by the British playwright Howard Brenton, centred on T. E. Lawrence and his 1922 retreat from public life at the home of his friends George Bernard Shaw and his wife Charlotte. Its premiere production ran from 28 April to 4 June 2016 at the Hampstead Theatre in London to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Arab Revolt, in which Lawrence played a leading part.
Nikesh Patel is a British actor, best known for his role as Aafrin Dalal in the TV series Indian Summers.