A then-unmarried English church minister and theologian wrote the first MRA play, about industrial relations and family life... The stage play has been translated into many languages and performed all over the world by professional and amateur casts since its creation in 1940.
The script was published in 1954, by Blandford Press. This is the 1969 Indian edition, with an introduction by the author.
From the back cover: Formerly a don at Oxford University, the author, Alan Thornhill, was invited by Dr Frank Buchman to take part in some of the first industrial round-table conferences of Moral Re-Armament.
He says, “A burning desire formed in my mind to see some of the drama of those round-table conferences represented in a full length play. One morning I woke up with a compelling urge to write. Although I had no knowledge of playwriting and indeed little experience of writing of any kind, except university lectures and a few book reviews, I decided to obey the inner impulse and started on a play. ln less than two days a three-act play was born. It was The Forgotten Factor.”
Over a million people have seen this play in five continents and a dozen languages, and many more as a film. ln the industrial Ruhr of Germany, in the coalfields of Northern France, in Italy’s “Red Belt”, in Africa, Asia and America, it has delighted audiences with its humour and humanity and its realistic portrayal of war in industry - and an unexpected solution.
Thornhill’s latest play, Hideout is currently enjoying a successful run in London’s West End at the Westminster Theatre. Other notable productions include the musical Annie and the plays Mr Wilberforce, MP and Bishop’s Move. He was co-author with Peter Howard of Music at Midnight and The Hurricane, both of which have been made into films.
English
