The Truth About Blayds by A.A,Milne, the Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 until 4 October 2025, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

Photo Credit: Carla Joy Evans.

The Truth About Blayds by A.A,Milne, the Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, London SW10 until 4 October 2025,

4☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

“Finely staged, rewarding revival.”

Once again, the Finborough has revived a long forgotten play – The Truth About Blayds was last seen in London in 1921 when it had a successful West End run followed by successful one in New York – and for that it deserves to be congratulated. A.A.Milne's play has been handsomely staged and strongly cast and is a revelation. His plays – there were others – are all forgotten while he has become a national treasure for Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. It has a surprising relevance to today because it is about how the celebrity of someone can be passed on to their children and even further – the Beckhams are an obvious instance. The debate on stage as the children and grandchildren of Oliver Blayds, poet and philosopher, confront his death bed confession that he was a sham and his work was that of another man is very interesting. But the casting is tricky in that none of them seem to belong to the same family and the costume designer has come up with garments which place them in no obvious period and certainly not a century ago. It is well worth seeking it out because as part of the theatres past it matters, and the Finborough has staged it handsomely. Are the heart of the play – it is a three acter as they usually were at the time – William Gaunt is magnificent, a demanding, frustrated 90-year-old, clearly once a tyrant now at the mercy of his family but still looking a Grand Old Man. For him alone go see it. His crime was he published the work of a flat mate, who had produced a prolific body of work before his death, which Blayds took as his own work and his family find that now they lose everything they have enjoyed as a result of his fame. The play, a good old warhorse in construction, has apparently had an afterlife in amateur productions as everyone in the cast gets lots to do. Director David Gilmore keeps it all moving – three act plays are not to the modern taste – and individually the cast are very good if collectively not all that convincing. It is not one of the best to be saved from oblivion by the Finborough, but the light it throws on Milne the writer is an overwhelming reason for both rescuing and seeing it. The truth and how to live with it makes for a rewarding evening.

Cast

A.L.Royce – Rupert Wickham

George Newlands – Oliver Blayds-Conway

Lucy Jamieson – Septima Blayds-Conway

Karen Alexander – Marion Blades-Conway

Oliver Beamish – William Blayds-Conway

Catherine Cusack – Isobel Blayds

William Gaunt – Oliver Blayds

Creatives

Director – David Gilmore

Set Designer – Alex Marker

Costume Designer – Carla Joy Evans

Lighting Designer – Jonathan Simpson