Cause Célèbre is based on the true story of Alma Rattenbury who went on trial with her 18-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. Condemned by the public more for her seduction of a young boy than for any involvement she may have had in her husband’s death, Alma’s fate is left in the hands of the socially and sexually repressed jury forewoman, Edith.

Cause Célèbre is staged at the Old Vic to celebrate the centenary of the birth of British writer Terence Rattigan. In addition to Cause Célèbre, the playwright also wrote piece including The Winslow Boy, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea and After The Dance.

Thea Sharrock, who previously directed Rattigan’s After The Dance at the National Theatre, makes her directorial debut at the Old Vic with Cause Célèbre. Her previous London productions include Equus, The Misanthrope, A Voyage Round My Father and Heroes.

For more about Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic read the First Night Feature.