Horniman’s Choice: Four One-Act Plays from the Manchester School of Playwrights

Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre, Horniman's Choice brings together four plays by the leading figures of the "Manchester School" of playwrights - Harold Brighouse, Stanley Houghton and Allan Monkhouse, all originally championed by Annie Horniman, owner of Gaiety Theatre, Manchester, the first regional repertory theatre in Britain.

Playwright Harold Brighouse (1882-1958) remains best known for his 1916 classic Hobson’s Choice. The story of how a tyrannical Lancashire boot maker is brought down to earth by his daughter and her simple husband, Hobson’s Choice has been much revived and was last seen in London at The Young Vic in 2003. It was filmed by David Lean with Charles Laughton and John Mills, and even adapted into a ballet. Brighouse brought a new and groundbreaking style to British theatre, portraying the bleak and harsh lives of the working classes, but combining it with a unique Northern flavour and wit. He was a leading member of the ’Manchester School’ of playwrights, along with well known Northern writers such as Stanley Houghton and Allan Monkhouse, a group of writers all largely based at Annie Horniman’s Gaiety Theatre, Manchester. The Finborough Theatre revived Harold Brighouse’s The Northerners in 2010.

Playwright Stanley Houghton (1881- 1913) was born in Ashton-upon-Mersey, Sale, Cheshire. Educated at Manchester Grammar School, he went into his father’s cotton business where he worked until the success of Hindle Wakes in 1912 allowed him to finally achieve his ambition to become a professional writer. He died just a year later of meningitis. One of the acclaimed ’Manchester School’ of playwrights, championed by Annie Horniman of the Gaiety Theatre, Manchester, and including such writers as Harold Brighouse and Allan Monkhouse, Houghton’s other works include The Intrigues, The Reckoning, The Dear Departed, Independent Means (recently revived by the Library Theatre, Manchester), The Younger Generation, The Master of the House, Fancy-Free, Trust the People and The Perfect Cure. The Finborough Theatre presented an acclaimed revival of Hindle Wakes in 2012 to mark the centenary of its world premiere.

Allan Monkhouse (1858-1936) was an English playwright, critic, essayist and novelist. He was born in Barnard Castle, County Durham. He worked in the cotton trade, in Manchester, and settled in Disley, Cheshire. From 1902 to 1932 he worked on The Manchester Guardian, writing also for the New Statesman. He began to write drama for the Gaiety Theatre, Manchester, shortly after it was opened by Annie Horniman. His best known plays include Mary Broome and The Conquering Hero, both recently revived by the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond.