Country Magic

Oliver Bashforth returns from the First World War crippled, facially disfigured, and hopeless about his future. Unable to face the high-society lifestyle he once enjoyed, he hides himself in the countryside where he encounters a lonely, seemingly unattractive local girl, Laura Pennington. Forced to protect himself from the interference of his social-climbing parents, he proposes marriage, although neither loves the other. The reluctant couple, however, fall under the spell of Murray Hillgrove, a neighbour blinded in the war whose optimism and belief in the power of love instigates an extraordinary, perhaps even magical, change in the couple. With his encouragement, Oliver and Laura do fall in love and, as they do undergo a mysterious and inexplicable transformation. But can this fragile and private enchantment survive the cruel scrutiny of sceptical outsiders?

A heart-warming testament to the redemptive power of love, The Enchanted Cottage was a huge popular success in a London scarred by the unimaginable horror of the Great War. Described as a fable by its author, it is rooted in the dreams of a generation of men whose youth was stolen from them by the carnage of trench warfare. Filmed in 1924 and again in 1945, it was equally successful in raising spirits during the darkest hours of the Second World War, but has not been revived in its original form since 1948. This production marks an exciting attempt to recapture the spirit, magic and impact of the original play.