Play name
When Winston Went To War With The Wireless
By Jack Thorne
Director
Colleen Batson
colleenbatson.blt@gmail.com
Playing dates
Thursday 4th February to Saturday 13th February (first Thursday is a private Charity show; not Sunday 7th February; matinee Saturday 6th February)
Get-in and Strike
Sunday, 17th January 2027; 14th February 2027
Venue
BLT Main House
Audition
2:30pm Sunday October 11th 2026
About the play
In May 1926, Britain grinds to a halt, as workers down tools for the General Strike.
With the printing presses shut down, the only sources of news are the government’s British Gazette, edited by Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, and the independent, fledgling British Broadcasting Company, led by John Reith. The stage is set for a fierce battle over control of the news and who gets to define the truth.
Jack Thorne’s When Winston Went To War With The Wireless is a gripping play about the birth of a great British institution and its efforts to stay impartial. It premiered at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in June 2023, directed by Katy Rudd, with Stephen Campbell Moore as Reith, Adrian Scarborough as Churchill, and Haydn Gwynne as Stanley Baldwin.
These are the very early days of the BBC, which is known as the British Broadcasting Company. The question is whether it should be the voice of government, its independence and impartiality are the lines the play are drawn on.
Reith and Churchill have their own issues too. Reith is a very complex character, he is both a staunch Christian and queer. Churchill has a settled home life and a precarious political one.
Key themes
- The effects of General Strike
- The role of the BBC as it was then
- Key people who shape the BBC and the political climate
- The personal relationships and lives of Reith and Churchill
- The political climate
- Social Change and the impact of the General Strike and the imposition of the Gold Standard; times are hard for ordinary people.
Running Time
Previous productions had a running time of approximately 2.5hrs with interval
Production
The play is set up as 10 scenes in each act
I envisage a very simple set. There are fourteen actors, many characters and doubling of roles.
I will be making use of the scrim to show some filmed scenes and material from the period.
I intend that Reith and Churchill are not doubled. Everybody else is. Everybody will have a significant part to play in order to demonstrate the full perspective of the period and events.
Rather than a linear structure, I intend to focus this as a play structured around Reith and Churchill, and scenes which allow us to see their back history. Of course, the current situation is strongly represented, and as in ordinary life there are things going on in the background that the general public do not see.
The scenes are a map of the whole situation. The early days of the BBC are as much about the technology as the people who facilitate and run it. Churchill is slippery and at the same time vulnerable. Reith looks like a solid character but behind that is some level of deception. They each have things they do not want revealed and people who can use that against them.
The roles interlock to show us this.
Key Dates
NB. These are subject to final confirmation:
Read Through: Sunday, 25th October 2026, 11.00am – 2.00pm
Christmas Break: W/c 21st December 2026
New Year Break: Thursday, 31st December 2026 & Friday 1st January 2027
Books Down: W/c 28th December 2026
Get In: Sunday, 17th January 2027
Technical (Cast are required): Saturday, 30th January 2027
Dress Rehearsals: Monday 1st & Tuesday 2nd February 2027
Get Out: 14th February 2027
Time
1920’s
Location
London
Style and Genre
Political & emotional drama
Characters
There are 14 main roles, most of which are doubled with minor roles. Main roles are indicated in bold text.
I have indicated the doubling, as I needed to work out who could double which roles, this is subject to final confirmation.
Some scenes or elements of scenes are recorded, as are meant to be played over the radio, others are filmed, so not all doubling is physically on stage.
Playing Ages. These are the playing ages of the main roles. I am looking for people who can play the role, not necessarily someone who looks like the role. Flexibility is necessary due to the doubling.
Open to gender/colour blind casting. Hadyn Gwinn played Baldwin in the original play.
| Character | Main Role Description |
| Isabel Shields Marion | Late twenties, perfectly spoken, rather ornate, Reith’s office person, narrator |
| John Reith (Leading) | Thirty-seven, conflicted, confident, with a scar on his left cheek |
| Archbishop of Canterbury JCC Davidson | Seventy-eight, patrician, stooped, a wise, thoughtful man |
| JCC Davidson Archbishop of Canterbury Commander Kenworthy (Voice Only) | Thirty-seven, deputy chief civil commissioner, deviously devoted |
| Stanley Baldwin H G Wells | Fifty-eight, Prime Minister of the country, cleverer than he first appears, able to match Churchill’s wiliness |
| Muriel Reith Coughing Woman/Helena Millais/ Ella | Thirties, full of a get-up-and-go that’s frequently thwarted, |
| Ernest Bevin Lloyd George/Cornwall | Forty-five, leader of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, wears the weight, an absolute believer in the movement, able to deliver a message |
| Charlie Bowser Screaming Man | Early twenties, beautiful, inside and out, a ghost of a past |
| Arthur Pugh Bruce/Morgan Jones | Fifty-six, Chair of the TUC’s Special Industrial Committee, brow-beaten, overwrought |
| Clemmie Churchill Amelia Johnson | Forty-one, witty, caring and frequently merciless, astute, forbearing |
| Amelia Johnson Clemmie Churchill | Newsreader, ramrod straight, voice of the BBC? |
| Peter Eckersley (Doubling TBA) | Thirty-four, chief engineer. Pipe in his mouth, has a bit of a swagger, a hidden confidence we don’t understand |
| Winston Churchill (Leading) | Fifty-two, balding, barrel-chested, bellicose, he has not yet come to his full potential and has had very mixed success. He is by no means well regarded by all. |
| JIX Engineer/Speaker | Sixty, Home Secretary, quite a traditional home secretary |
Unless otherwise shown members of the company will cover smaller roles, shown below, by doubling.
They should not require additional casting as they are already incorporated in the doubling indicated above. Additional details are given to indicate the how the role is doubled.
| DOUBLED ROLES | Characters in bold text have at least a page worth of lines. |
| HELGA Beatrice Lillie | Small Role when doubled or Company with Singing |
| BEATRICE LILLIE HELGA | Small Role when doubled or Company with Singing |
| UNION MEN | Company and/or Recorded material from period |
| Members of the House | Company and/or Recorded material from period |
| ENGINEER | Company (Several scenes) |
| H. G. WELLS | Company |
| HELENA MILLAIS | Company |
| A screaming MAN | Company |
| ELLA FITZPATRICK | Company |
| SANDY POWELL (Singing Patter style Yorkshire?) Billy Bennett (Lancastrian comedian?) | Small Role when doubled and/or Company (Several Pages, Some Singing) |
| BILLY BENNETT (Lancastrian comedian?) Sandy Powell (Singing Patter style Yorkshire?) | Small Role when doubled and/or Company (Several Pages, Some Singing) |
| A coughing WOMAN | Company |
| COMMANDER KENWORTHY (Voice Only) | Company |
| DUKE OF CORNWALL | Company (2 Pages) |
| SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE | Company |
| LLOYD GEORGE | Company |
| MORGAN JONES | Company |
| BRUCE, a spoons player | Company (Page and some) |
| MARION CRAN | Company |
| GERRY, a Foley artist (Unspoken), FOLEY ARTISTS | Sound Operators |
Audition pieces
| Characters | Piece |
| Amelia, Davidson & Reith | Act 2, S3, p75 – 77 |
| Bevin & Churchill | Act 1, Sc3, p22 – 24 |
| Charlie & Reith – Confrontation | Act 2, Sc9, p99 – 100 |
| Charlie & Reith – Intro | Act 1, Sc3, p30 – 32 |
| Churchill & Baldwin | Act 2, Sc2 , p71 – 74 |
| Churchill & Clemmie | Act 1, Sc 6, p39 – 41 |
| Davidson & Reith | Act 1, Sc3, p27 – 29 |
| Engineer & Reith | Act 2, Sc10, p104 |
| Helga, Engineer Helga Beatrice Little | Act 1, Sc1, p15 Act 2, Sc6, p87 Act 1, Sc 3, p24 |
| Jix & Churchill | Act 1, Sc4, p33 – 34 |
| Peter & Reith | Act 1, Sc8 , p49 – 51 |
| Reith – Monologue | Act 1, Sc , p18 – 19 |
| Reith & Archbishop | Axt 2, Sc7, p93 – 95 |
| Reith & Churchill | Act 1, Sc5, p34 – 38 |
| Reith & Isabel | Act 2, Sc9, p100 – 103 |
| Reith & Muriel – Truth and Honesty | Act 2, Sc6 , p88 – 90 |
| Reith & Muriel | Act 1, Sc7, p43 – 45 |
| Reith, Muriel & Charlie | Act 2, Sc1, P67 – 70 |
| Reith, Bevin & Pugh Churchill & Clemmie | Act 1, Sc 6, p39 Act 1, Sc 6, p40 – 41 |
| Sandy Powell & Billy Bennett | Act 1, sc9, p53 – 54 Interval, p63 – 64 Act 2, Sc5, p82 |