The Browning Version and A Harlequinade (by Terence Rattigan; produced by Maurice Evans in association with Stephen Mitchell) stars Maurice Evans and Edna Best in a double bill requiring their British accents. As playwrighting, it is not too far from double bilge; Rattigan's study of a defeated schoolmaster is only a shade less routine than his spoofing of ham actors. As entertainment, however, there is a substantial difference between the two. The Browning Version, besides being almost exhilaratingly grim, gives everybody a chance to act; A Harlequinade 'encourages everybody to over-cavort.
Schoolmaster Andrew Crocker-Harris of The Browning Version is not just grey...
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