Charles Morgan (1894-1958), a once popular novelist and playwright, has long been forgotten. The River Line, which premiered with Paul Scofield in 1952, has not been seen since on the London stage, so Anthony Biggs’s revival is something of a collector’s item.
A British soldier is murdered during World War 2 by his fellow officers. They were in transit, escaping from the Nazis, with the help of the French resistance. They thought he was a German spy. After the war is over they learn he was not a spy and will have to carry the responsibility for his death for the rest of their lives. What would you do if you found out that the woman you loved was the half brother of the man you had killed? Would you tell her the truth? Would you feel you could marry her? Morgan’s characters, in the Greek tragic manner, cannot find peace of mind and absolution until their guilt has been expiated.
The middle act, which is set in France, a flashback to the war, has all the action. The other two acts are very talky in an old-fashioned and artificial sort of way and will appeal to audiences who enjoy discussion and are prepared to listen closely.