For men long returned from World War One, life is still changed forever. Some are struggling with life-changing injuries, while others are fighting to adapt to a vastly altered working world. It is a place these former heroes have not been prepared for, and where debt, redundancy and depression form a constant threat.

Life for the women around these returned fighters is just as troubled. Husbands are now hard to find, and, for those desperate for children and family, any man can seem better than none. But this is a solution with troubling, life-long consequences.

This engrossing drama is one of W. Somerset Maugham's greatest plays. Written in 1932 it confronts with style and honesty the unspoken consequences of war, loss and trauma on one ordinary English family.

Director Howard Davies’s many acclaimed productions for the RSC, the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway, have
won him numerous Best Director Awards. In 2009 he made his debut at Chichester with The House of Special Purpose in the Minerva Theatre.

Listen to Howard Davies in conversation with Kate Mosse about the production.