Thought scandalous in its day (though in 1934, that didn’t take much), Lillian Hellman’s drama – at its most potent – feels a thematic precursor to Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, written some 20 years later.

Like The Crucible, The Children’s Hour is set in a small community and it too hinges on an accusation made by a vengeance-motivated girl. Hellman’s treatment of a true story from 1810 creaks a little in the 21st century, but it remains gripping, even though it lacks wider tragic and political dimensions of Miller’s play. 

The Children’s Hour. Photo © Phil Erbacher

The play is centred on two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, who have established a small school catering to the daughters of the well-heeled. Among the pupils is Mary Tilford, the troublesome granddaughter of a local society matron. She’s quite a handful, prone to feigning illness, bullying and manipulating confidences.

Motivated by spite, Mary takes schoolyard scuttlebutt about Karen and Martha’s relationship to her grandmother, Amelia, an influential figure in town who helped Karen (Jess Bell) and Martha (Romney Hamilton) set up the school and attract...