Flarepath

Filmed as The Way to the Stars and set in the 1940s, Rattigan's famous play concerns Patricia's love for a film actor, despite her marriage to Flight-Lieutenant Teddy Graham. Going to the hotel to break with Teddy, followed by Peter, Pat encounters Doris, married to a Polish Count, who is one of two pilots not to return from a bombing raid. Hearing the Count's last letter, Pat realizes how much Teddy needs her, and gives Peter his dismissal.

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) hit the jackpot at the age of 25 with French Without Tears and followed this success with, among others, The Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea, Flare Path, Separate Tables and The Winslow Boy. Most of Rattigan's plays are currently published in handsome uniform editions by Nick Hern Books, with life sales of several thousand to date.