Bolton Little Theatre will welcome a new director for its upcoming play. Eleanor Maxwell will direct the cast of The Children's Hour in Lillian Hellman's drama about gossip, revenge, and reputational damage. Ms Maxwell said: "I saw BLT were asking for new directors, particularly if they had plays they were interested in putting on, and I’d come across this one a few years ago.
"It’s an excellent drama with a pretty important message – both for the time it was written and for the present day." The play was inspired by a story shared with Hellman by thriller writer Sam Dashiell-Hammett. It centres around two Scottish female teachers whose careers were destroyed by allegations, culminating in a court case.
Hellman adapted the story into a play, which became an 'instant hit' on Broadway in 1934 and is still celebrated as a 'perfectly constructed drama.' In the play, Catherine Cropper takes on the role of Mary Tilford, a pupil at a school run by two female teachers. After being reprimanded, Mary seeks revenge by starting a rumour about the teachers' relationship.
She manipulates her grandmother Amelia, played by June Grice, and other pupils into spreading false allegations, ruining the school's reputation. The roles of the teachers at the centre of the scandal, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, are played by Abbie Jones and Rebecca Carney. The 11-strong cast includes many familiar faces but also an array of newcomers (Image: aniapank) Ms Jones said: "The fact that two reputatio.
