Cause Celebre

"Cause Celebre" by Terence Rattigan (22 Apr - 25 Apr 2026)

Poster

Director’s Notes
I have wanted to direct Cause Célèbre for a long time. Although a newcomer to St Michael's Players, I directed 12 plays for my former theatre group in Notting Hill, including 3 Rattigans. Many regard Terence Rattigan as one of the finest 20th Century British playwrights, rivalling Coward and Wilde. He portrayed such subtle observations of human emotions – particularly repressed English ones. His early plays are often comedy romances, but he soon progressed to plays showing a greater depth, such as The Deep Blue Sea and Separate Tables - sometimes heartbreaking but laced with wit.

Cause Célèbre, Rattigan’s final play (1977), is both a tragic love story and a courtroom drama. It is based on real life events, centred around the murder of Francis Rattenbury and the trial accusing his wife Alma and her lover George of killing him. Rattigan had tackled a legal drama before with The Winslow Boy, but Cause Célèbre is a more ambitious, complex piece of theatre. Half the play takes place in the courtroom plus scenes from two homes and prison. It involves flashbacks and parallel storylines. The Rattenburys are based on real people, but the Davenports are invented. Edith and her son Tony provide a dramatic counterpoint to the relationship between Alma and George. Edith is morally repressed in contrast to free-spirited Alma, who may appeal more to us now. But Edith reflects the views of the 1935 public, who regarded Alma as a scarlet woman. Yet both Alma and Edith claim that a young person can dominate an older one. And just as Edith dotes on Tony, one suspects that Alma’s love for George is partly maternal. Even if she did not incite him to murder her husband, she wants to protect him. The stories of Edith and Alma resonate with anyone who has been carried away either by ideals or by an obsessive passion.

What they said

"I really enjoyed it. Well done everyone. Also special mention to hair and costume. You all looked amazing!!!" Vikki H

"Well done to all cast, crew and everyone else involved. Awesome show last night" Utku E

"Really superb !!! Congrats everyone involved 😀" Ken B

"My goodness, what a show! Congratulations cast and crew! Every second holds the attention across a whole spectrum of emotions. I indeed felt like I was part of the jury, and couldn’t help but judge, sympathise and question along the way. Very clever set too. Can’t wait to see it again on Saturday!" Helen M

"Fantastic performances - what an amazing achievement!! Congratulations everyone ☺️ xx" Tessa D

"Amazing production by amazing actors and clever direction. All the best and break a leg for the rest of the run." Mahir S

"It was fantastic! Really well done everyone!" Amelia B

"Wonderful production and brilliantly cast. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was totally immersed. Congratulations 🎉" Mike D

"ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟" Sue S

“You were brilliant. I loved it, such a huge cast. Great story line, great costumes. Loved the little subplot with the STD 🤣” Rebecca B

"Many congratulations to you and your cast and crew for yesterday’s excellent performance of C C: great pace and energy, very clear story-telling, and especially compelling characterisation from Alma and Edith. I loved the period costumes and seamless movement from scene to scene.

Hoping the rest of the run goes as well and that you can now relax a little!" Martin A L

"I really enjoyed Cause Celebre last night, it was a very professional and engaging performance. Well done everyone xx" Debbie B

"Congratulations again, Cause Celebre Director, Cast, Crew and Team ! I loved it so much I came back a second time! Where to start? Spot on with casting, set design, costumes. Completely believable characters, riveting and compelling throughout, and a skilful blend of drama, pathos and humour. Adored the legal twists and turns, and would be almost worth committing a murder to have that team wrangling on my behalf !Another triumph, St Michael's Players!" Sue S

"As John has just said, we are always assured a great evening when we go to St Michael’s Players! Congratulations to all on another brilliant show!" Cherry R

"I have been to a number of plays at the theatre over the years and have never been disappointed, but I think Cause Celebre rank as my favourite
I did not know the Terrence Rattigan play and appreciated the synopsis in the programme . I thought it was an ambitious project given the restrictions of the stage. However the quality of the acting overcame all the stage shortcomings. I don’t want to select any particular actor as I thought they were all outstanding, although I thought the actors portraying the ‘teenagers’ were exceptional. So good to see full audiences at the performances to appreciate the tremendous amount of work put in by both actors and support workers" Hilary C

"Super performance all the way through - you must do more of these..” Anon

“Very engaging - excellent and professional delivery throughout. Rattigan has such deep and various sub plots - much better than Coward! - what’s next for St Michael's Players?- I’ll come again!” - Vivian H-J

"Bravo! "Cause Celebre" is definitely an event. Spot-on casting, great costumes, clever and economical staging, with some fine performances from both the familiar and new faces in the Players. The play itself is an enigma and perhaps a little dated, but the sense of the era and its attitudes are very well realised. 👏 Enjoy it tonight!" Alice C

"Very many congratulations on a superb production and performances last night! We were completely engrossed from beginning to end and enjoyed every minute. And what a VERY talented family you are! Well done indeed and I’m sorry we won’t be here on Sunday to give you a live hooray!" Deirdre S

“I really enjoyed it. To hold our attention for that period of time is a tribute to the play and the direction, but most of all to the ensemble who delivered a complicated play in a thoroughly engaging way!” James H-S

“Well done St Michael's Players. Very enjoyable play and very well produced. I thought the split stage worked brilliantly and everyone in the huge cast were fantastic. Enjoy your final performance” Jane H

"Really enjoyed it! Thought staging very good & great characters& story. I didn't know the story, so was pretty hooked! Loved the wardress role!" Jemima H

“great performances all round and although you have a small stage, you succeeded in having a BIG show” Desiree

"We had such a great evening, well done...! Loved the play... best of luck in the last couple of performances, hope it continues to go well" Ali B

"I was amazed by the standard of acting last night. James was so good that I didn realise that it was him for some time after he came on. Leslie's sour-faced barrister was far from the genial gentleman of the railway children.

Trish has been coming to the players with her friends long before you became involved and knows many of the cast members performances well. She says that you managed to lift them up to a higher level." Rod N

"Just to congratulate you on the excellent production of Cause Celebre on Saturday. I had never seen the play, and found it gripping - so many twists. And I thought the acting and the production were great. I particularly enjoyed the period outfits. And Leslie was terrific." Alex R

"Just wanted to say thank you to you, and all of the cast and crew at St Michael's Players for a really enjoyable evening. The play was excellent, and very powerful and engaging with the odd bits of comedy running though too. Everyone was really good in their parts under your direction - especially James. Please continue to let me know when St Michael's is putting on another play." Josie B

"I cannot tell you how much our little team enjoyed Cause Celebre on Thursday. The play itself is full of interest and the suspense is extended to the very end. It is clearly very tricky to direct with the number of characters, time changes, and complicated plots and sub-plots and you really did a brilliant job. It kept the audience guessing until the last minute….

You really brought the best out of the actors; Alma, George, O’Connor, Croom-Johnson and Edith gave first-class performances and the cast generally was excellent. A truly enjoyable evening and a triumph for the director. Thank you so much for all the work the cast and crew must have put in to create such a wonderful spectacle" Jeremy F

"That was EXCEPTIONAL" Anon

"Amazing. So well acted" Andrea W

"Many thanks for your e-mail and for your welcome on the evening.

To be honest though the pleasure was all mine. I thought it was a great production with some very talented actors on stage. I felt pretty privileged to have a front row seat to watch and in terms of value it must be one of the best theatre tickets I have ever purchased. I also got chatting to some people sitting alongside me who were members of the Terence Rattigan Society and they seemed to be enjoying their evening very much also. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for what you are showing in future and hopefully somewhere down the line I will get a chance to take in another show. Best wishes to yourself and all your team at St Michael's Players" Gerry M

"Just to congratulate you both. It is a superb production Alison. All the TRS (Terence Rattigan Society) group thoroughly enjoyed it. Super cast too and the Du Cane family out in force" Barbara L

Photos

Spotlight interview

Alison, Arabella and David popped into Riverside Radio for an interview and here we are: LINK

Programme

2604_cc_prog.pdf
File Size:	314 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Cast

CLERK OF THE COURT (Christine Lee)
ALMA RATTENBURY (Alice Klapwyk)
EDITH DAVENPORT (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
STELLA MORRISON Edith’s sister (Elizabeth Ollier)
JOHN DAVENPORT (Neil Clarke)
TONY DAVENPORT Edith’s son (Conor McCorry)
PORTER (Chris Jones)
IRENE RIGGS Alma’s companion (Cressida Strauss)
GEORGE WOOD (James Du Cane)
FRANCIS RATTENBURY Alma’s husband (Tony Traxler)
CHRISTOPHER Alma’s son (James Cummins)
RANDOLPH BROWNE Tony’s friend (Cillian McCorry)
JOAN WEBSTER Wardress (Imogen Measday)
O’CONNOR Lead Counsel for Alma (David Burles)
MONTAGU Junior Counsel for Alma (Andrew Clarke)
CASSWELL Counsel for Wood (Guy Fairbank)
JUDGE (Alastair Dewar)
CROOM-JOHNSON Prosecuting Counsel (Leslie Du Cane)
SERGEANT BAGWELL (Chris Jones)
CORONER (Alison Du Cane)

Crew

Director (Alison Du Cane)
Set Design (Alastair Dewar, Alison Du Cane, Arabella Harcourt-Cooze)
Set Construction (Alastair Dewar, Chris Hulatt, Rebecca Lee & Members of Cast)
Lighting & Sound (Andy Rooney, Gareth Sammer, Jo Harry)
Stage Management (Christine Lee, Susan Johnson, Marcella Meneses Richardson)
Costumes (Imogen Measday & Members of Cast)
Props (Susan Johnson, Vicki Belcher)
Poster Design (Alison Du Cane, Ian Trowbridge)
Publicity (Guy Fairbank & Members of Cast)
Hair & Make up (Rachel Fay, Tony Traxler, Teena Heer)
Front of House (Members & Friends of St Michael’s Players)