''Background'' is a 1950 play by the British writer

Warren Chetham-Strode Reginald Warren Chetham-Strode, MC (28 January 1896 – 26 April 1974) was an English author and playwright. He wrote several plays, including the West End hit '' The Guinea Pig'' (1946), which was turned into a film in 1948. He also wrote ...

. It examines the effect on the children of a married couple going through a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. It premiered at the

Theatre Royal, Brighton The Theatre Royal, Brighton is a theatre in Brighton, England presenting a range of West End and touring musicals and plays, along with performances of opera and ballet. History In 1806 the Prince of Wales (later George IV) gave Royal Assent fo ...

before transferring to the

Westminster Theatre The Westminster Theatre was a theatre in London, on Palace Street in Westminster. History The structure on the site was originally built as the Charlotte Chapel in 1766, by William Dodd with money from his wife Mary Perkins. Through Peter Ri ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

where it ran for 84 performances between 17 May and 29 June 1950. The original West End cast included Colin Douglas, Andre Morell,

Lily Kann Lily Hertha Kann 26th. October, 1893, Peitz – 2nd. November, 1978, Sussex, was a German-born, British actress. (Though the BFI website claims that she was born in Berlin, and died in Horsham). She appeared in the West End in the play '' Backgro ...

and

Valerie White Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 son ...

. It was directed by

Norman Marshall Norman Edgar Marshall (27 February 1924 – 11 August 2007) was a West Indian international cricketer. He was born in the Welchman Hall Plantation, Saint Thomas, Barbados and played in a Test match against Australia in 1955. His brother Roy al ...

Film adaptation

In 1953 it was made into a film of the same title directed by

Daniel Birt Daniel Birt (23 June 1907 – 15 May 1955) was an English film director and editor. Career Birt began his career as an editor in 1932 with an assistant credit on '' The Lucky Number'' and went on to edit 12 films during the 1930s. World W ...

and starring

Valerie Hobson Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...

Philip Friend Philip Wyndham Friend (20 February 1915 in Horsham, Sussex – 1 September 1987 in Chiddingfold, Surrey) was a British film and television actor. Career Britain Friend went to Bradfield College where he became interested in acting. He began ...

and

Norman Wooland Norman Wooland (16 March 19053 April 1989) was an English character actor who appeared in many major films, including several Shakespearean adaptations. Wooland was born in Düsseldorf, Germany to British parents. During the Second World War he ...

. Chetham-Strode co-wrote the screenplay.Goble p.447

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1950 plays Plays by Warren Chetham-Strode West End plays Plays set in London British plays adapted into films {{1950s-play-stub