The Browning Version

The Browning Version, a play by Terence Rattigan, was first performed in 1948 at London’s Phoenix Theatre. It was originally produced as part of a joint bill, with a companion piece titled Harlequinade. The Browning Version takes place in a boys public school and is thought to have been inspired by Rattigan’s experiences at the Harrow School in London.

The play opens at the home of Andrew and Millie Crocker-Harris. Andrew is a Classics teacher at the boys school. A young student named John Taplow arrives at the front door and lets himself in. He helps himself to chocolate and uses a walking stick to practice playing golf. A youthful schoolmaster by the name of Frank Hunter observes Taplow without being seen. Eventually, he interrupts Taplow and gives him some suggestions about his golf swing. They speak to each other for a few minutes, while Taplow waits for a tutoring session with Andrew, even though it is the last day of school. Taplow plans to study science, which is Hunter’s subject.

Taplow performs an impression of Andrew which he quickly regrets, but Hunter asks him to do it again. Since Andrew is late, Hunter suggests that Taplow go to play golf but he does not like the idea. Although Taplow has some difficulties with Andrew, he actually likes him and also fears him, which encourages him to remain and wait. While Taplow talks of Andrew and imitates him again, Andrew’s wife Millie come to the door and listens for a while before entering. Taplow wonders if Millie has heard him imitating Andrew. She tells him that her husband will be delayed a while longer and that he can leave, but Taplow decides to wait. Millie, however, sends him on an errand.



At this point, Hunter and Millie are alone and it becomes clear from their conversation that they are romantically involved with each other. They make arrangements to meet later in the summer. When Millie tries to kiss him, Hunter rejects her overture, fearing that they will be caught. She asks him if Taplow was mimicking her husband and when Hunter confirms he was, she calls it a good impression. She talks about her faltering relationship with her husband, saying that he once had ambitions and wanted to be a headmaster. She explains that Andrew is leaving his teaching position, supposedly due to a heart condition. She and Hunter are about to kiss when Andrew finally gets home.

Andrew is not happy to learn that Taplow has been sent on an errand and asks Hunter to sit for a while. He does so and they exchange small talk while waiting for Taplow to return. Andrew tells Hunter that his next job will be at a school for what he calls “backwards” boys. When Taplow returns, Hunter leaves and Millie goes to prepare dinner. Andrew begins the tutoring session with Taplow, who is translating Agamemnon from the Greek as he reads it. He adds a bit of style to his recitation, which Andrew does not approve of. Andrew tells his young pupil that he once wrote a translation of the play in verse. Shortly after this exchange, the session is interrupted by the arrival of the headmaster, Dr. Frobisher, who wants to speak with Andrew in private, at which point Taplow leaves.

Frobisher delivers several bits of news to Andrew. The Gilberts, who will be moving into the flat when Andrew and Millie leave, will be stopping by. He also explains that Andrew will not receive a pension because he has only been at the school for eighteen years, and that a recent exception to that rule does not apply to Andrew because of his circumstances. Furthermore, he tells Andrew that he wants him to speak first at the next day’s ceremony, even though as the senior staff member it is tradition that he speak last. The other speaker is more popular and Andrew agrees to the change. After the headmaster leaves, Millie takes Andrew to task for accepting the loss of his pension without putting up a fight. In the middle of their argument, the Gilberts arrive and are shown around by Millie.  While in conversation with Mr. Gilbert, Andrew admits he considers himself a failure as a teacher. He thought being a funny character would help his students learn from him, but he ended up being despised by them and his colleagues. He is embarrassed by what he has said and simply wishes Mr. Gilbert good luck in his new position.



After the Gilberts leave, Taplow returns to say goodbye and to give Andrew a gift: it is a verse translation of Agamemnon by Browning, which touches Andrew. When Hunter returns Andrew confides in him. When Millie sees Taplow’s gift she says it was just a bribe for Taplow’s “remove” (a group prevented from moving up with its peers) and tells Andrew that Taplow had been imitating him earlier in the day. Andrew has to leave the room for a while. Hunter tells Millie to take back what she said, or he himself will tell Andrew it was a lie. Hunter is shocked by Millie’s cruelty and feels it necessary to end their relationship.

Millie leaves when Andrew returns. Hunter tells him that although Taplow did imitate him, he truly likes Andrew and that the gift was sincere. Andrew is unconvinced and thinks that Taplow is probably telling others about his emotional reaction as they speak. Hunter does not believe this. He suggests to Andrew that he should leave Millie and discovers that Andrew knows about their affair. When Millie returns, she asks Hunter to stay for dinner. He refuses and leaves. Millie tells Andrew that she will not go with him to his new job. Frobisher calls and Andrew tells him that he will speak second at the ceremony. When he finishes his call with Frobisher, Andrew asks Millie to serve dinner which she does.