The Linden Tree

The Linden Tree, written and produced in 1947, was one of Priestley’s most successful plays. As Professor Linden celebrates his 65th birthday with his wife and children around him, he faces pressure both from within his family and from the University where he teaches. The times and values are changing. Post War Britain is on the move. The Professor finds his life and his family are at a crisis point. Each member of the family has a different attitude towards the future of their father and indeed towards the future of the country. In this powerful and moving play, the close, yet divided, Linden family is rooted in the struggles faced by the country as whole. "The most topical play on the London stage. And I can't imagine it being better done than in Christopher Morahan's superbly acted revival... Oliver Ford Davies is quite superb as Linden: ironic, obdurate, humane but given to flashes of rage in his belief in his continuing right to teach." The Guardian. "All the anxieties of our modern, progressive middle class are probed, laid bare and finally justified, in this glorious revival of JB Priestley's wonderful old play... For this is a play about the sacrifices of taking responsibility for society. As the family abandon their father for their various castles of privilege, there is a heroism in his refusal to follow suit that is touching and inspiring in equal measure." Evening Standard. "A political play in the best and most personal sense of the word... Christopher Morahan’s refined and riveting production is both delicate and robust... The company acting is beautifully orchestrated; and Oliver Ford Davies gives another of those edgy, vigorous but deeply sensitive performances of which he is such a master." Sunday Times. "A play which speaks with extraordinary freshness to our own pessimistic age... You leave feeling curiously nourished with optimism and grateful to the Orange Tree for unearthing such a gem." Daily Telegraph. "If there's any justice, Christopher Morahan's excellent production of The Linden Tree will encourage a wider re-evaluation of Priestley's stage works... It's slightly old fashioned, but a treat all the same." Time Out. "A fascinating play worthy of revival, one anchored superbly by Oliver Ford Davies’s professor." The Times.