No Villain Tickets
Performance dates
14 June to 23 July. Monday to Saturday 7.45pm, Thursday & Saturday 3pm
Run time 80 minutes, no interval. No latecomers admitted.
Includes interval
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No Villain transfers to Trafalgar Studios 2 for a limited 4-week run this June, following its sold out premiere at The Old Red Lion Theatre in December 2015.
“My first attempt at a play, rather inevitably, had been about industrial action and a father and his two sons, the most autobiographical dramatic work I would ever write.” Arthur Miller
In six days of the spring break at the University of Michigan in 1936, a twenty-year old college student Arthur Miller writes his first ever play, No Villain. He writes this with his hopes high for the prestigeous Avery Hopwood award, which comes with a $250 prize money he needs to return to college the year after. Miller eventually ended up winning the award, however, the play had not been produced – until 2015, returning in 2016 to the famous Trafalgar Studios.
No Villain tells the story of a strike involving clothes-making companies. The strike sees the son go against the factory owner – and his father at the same time. Throughout the story, Miller examines Marxism, which would bring him problems and put him in court in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, now known as House Committee on Internal Security, some years later.
This Miller's debut gives us a glimpse of the author's early life as a student. We can also observe where his political values come from and at the same time, watch the start of his extremely successful writing career.
"No Villain takes us to another cradle of dramatic greatness."
The Guardian
"Arthur Miller's lost debut premieres in a London pub - and it's absolutely brilliant"
The Independent
"A stylish outing for Arthur Miller's Marxist debut drama."
Time Out
Photo credits Cameron Harle
Special notes
No latecomers admitted.
Recent Reviews
Excellent production and acting but box office initially claimed no trace of me and did not recognise the reference number
Interesting to see early emergence of the themes that Miller continued to explore in his later and more mature works.
An amazing opportunity to see a never-before-staged Miller play -- an absolute must-see. The intimate studio setting is perfect for this short play.
Saw the play last night, very impressed, really enjoyed it!
Very interesting to see in Miller's first play, the future themes and characters of his later work.
I was surprised at how good this play by the young Arthur Miller was and I thought that the production was excellent.
Superbly acted with crackling dialogue that really illuminates the issues of the period and setting. But why are the ticket prices via London Theatre Direct so much more expensive than other agencies
No Villain's main virtue is that it was written by Arthur Miller. Therefore, as part of his archive, it was interesting to see an early, unpublished work. He packed a number of issues into an hour and 20 minutes. It was well-acted.
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