A Late Debut

Late in 1959 I was staying in Lahore, Pakistan, on my way back to direct another bout of plays at the Oxford Playhouse. I had just left a group of Playhouse actors touring the Indian subcontinent, and the parent company should have been preparing the stage version of A Passage to India. As it turned out, they weren’t: I was asked to get back as early as possible. The play was due to open in six weeks and there was no cast, no design, and precious little money: only an ‘investment’ (act of kindness) by Graham Greene, which would be forfeit if not used before April.