The Truth About Blayds

The Truth About Blayds is a three-act comedy by A. A. Milne, first performed in London in December 1921. It depicts the turmoil into which the family of a revered poet, Oliver Blayds, is plunged when it emerges immediately after his death that the poetry for which he is famous was in fact written by a friend who died young, leaving numerous poems which Blayds passed off over the years as his own work. After the West End run the play was seen on Broadway and in Australia. Background and premiere In the early 1920s A. A. Milne, best known so far for his humorous articles and verses in Punch, was establishing a reputation as a playwright. His Mr Pim Passes By (1919) ran well in the West End and on Broadway. The title role in that play was played by the actor-manager Dion Boucicault, and Milne wrote The Truth About Blayds in 1921 with Boucicault and his wife, Irene Vanbrugh, in mind. They accepted it and the play was put into rehearsal, opening on 20 December 1921 at the Globe Theatre, and running for 121 performances, until 5 April 1922. A Broadway production ran at the Booth Theatre for 108 performances, from 14 March 1922. Original casts