Man and Boy (play)

Man and Boy is a play by Terence Rattigan. It was first performed at The Queen's Theatre, London, and Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York, in 1963,^[4] with Charles Boyer starring as Gregor Antonescu. It had a Broadway revival in 2011 with Frank Langella and Adam Driver.

Man and Boy
Charles Boyer on Playbill cover for original 1963 Broadway production
Written by	Terence Rattigan[1]
Date premiered	1963[2]
Place premiered	Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York(12 November 1963). The Queen's Theatre, London(4 December 1963)[3]
Original language	English

Synopsis

The play is a study of a ruthless, sociopathic businessman: his inability to love and the impact of this on others (notably, his son and his wife). The central character Gregor Antonescu was based on the lives of Ivar Kreuger, the Swedish Match King,^[5] and Samuel Insull the Anglo-American investor.^[6]

Cast and characters

Character	Broadway debut	West End debut	Broadway Revival
	1963	2005	2011
Gregor Antonescu	Charles Boyer	David Suchet	Frank Langella
Basil Anthony	Barry Justice	Ben Silverstone	Adam Driver
David Beeston	William Smithers	Will Huggins	Michael Cristofer
Carol Penn	Louise Sorel	Jennifer Lee Jellicorse	Virginia Kull
Sven Johnson	Geoffrey Keen	Colin Stinton	Zack Grenier
Mark Herries	Austin Willis	David Yelland	Brian Hutchison

Production history

The play, directed by Michael Benthall, originally opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway on November 12, 1963.^[7] It was poorly received, with a limited London run and only 54 performances on Broadway; but was revived by Maria Aitken in 2005 at the Duchess Theatre, London, with David Suchet as Gregor Antonescu, to great acclaim.^[8][9] Maria Aitken again directed the play for Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway in the fall of 2011 at the American Airlines Theatre starring Tony Award winner Frank Langella as Antonescu.^[10] The Australian premiere of Man and Boy was performed at the Garrick Theatre in Perth, Western Australia, in June 2007.^[11]

It was announced in April 2025 that Britain’s National Theatre plans to revive the play at its London home, in a production with Ben Daniels in the lead rôle, directed by Anthony Lau.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
2011	Tony Awards	Best Actor in a Play	Frank Langella	Nominated	[12]