Windlesham House 3

A school play that was not a “school” play. That would be my verdict on The Rocking Horse Winner. It was, in many ways, a shocking and disturbing drama for any school. Yes, I would agree that we do not need yet another dull and pedestrian production of Toad of Toad Hall, but The Rocking Horse Winner went too far in the opposite direction.

The themes of the play made a powerful (and maybe poisonous) cocktail: the Occult, gambling and greed, with a strong shot of social climbing, pretentiousness and the break-up of a family. The threatening music (lots of Eric Satie) and the set’s nightmarish design added to the play’s alarming effect on the audience.

As an adult, I found this play both powerful and painful. It really was not at all suitable for children of primary school age, but of course plays and the theatre are posh and they have snob value, so no one in authority at Windlesham was too bothered about whether it was appropriate for the children. Some of the teachers were worried that the younger children might be frightened by the play, but of course Charles and E.A. ignored their objections.

The play was written by Michael (aka Ben or just Benny) Benenson and it is based on the short story by D.H. Lawrence. It tells the tale of a young boy, Paul, who goes into a sort of clairvoyant trance when he rides his old rocking horse. In the trance, he can predict the names of the horses that will win their races. Paul’s cold and uncaring mother, Hester, wants to keep up with the Joneses, but her husband is a deadbeat and so the family never has enough money. With the help of his Uncle Oscar and the gardener, Bassett (well, it takes all sorts), Paul starts to win large sums of money. As he rides his rocking horse frantically, Paul develops brain fever and he becomes seriously ill. Finally, Paul predicts the winner of the Derby and dies. It is not a happy play.

The scenery was garish (or maybe ghoulish). The horses’ masks reminded me of Picasso’s Guernica. Alex Chalk was absolutely brilliant as Paul and I also remember that Max Lowry was good as the bumptious Tick Tack Tout. 

Millie Church injected a small dose of comedy into the play, but really the overall effect of Peter Nixon’s superb production was like being hit with a sledgehammer. Genius? Yes, or something very close to it, both in Benny’s script and Peter’s direction.

I suppose Hester’s obsession with money and her lack of concern for her son’s welfare were metaphors for WHS. The Rocking Horse Winner was a very original and unusual piece of drama, but it was out of place in a prep school, even one as pretentious and as arty farty as Windlesham.