''My Boy Jack'' is a 1997 play by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actor

David Haig David Haig Collum Ward (born 20 September 1955) is an English actor and playwright. He has appeared in West End productions and numerous television and film roles over a career spanning four decades. Haig wrote the play '' My Boy Jack'', w ...

. It tells the story of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

and his grief for his son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, who died in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The title comes from Kipling's 1915 poem, '' My Boy Jack''.

Theatre (2004)

''My Boy Jack'' played at the

Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts major ...

, in 2004. It then toured

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Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, with the newly formed Haig Lang Productions. In America, ''My Boy Jack'' has been performed under the title ''My Son Jack''.

Television (2007)

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

based on Haig's play was filmed in August 2007, with Haig as Kipling and

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

as Jack Kipling. It was distributed by

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

Ecosse Films Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH. History The first production of Ecosse Films was the 1997 ...

. It was broadcast on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

and

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

(Ireland) at 9pm on Sunday 11 November 2007,

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

Recent research

John Kipling's body was never found, despite his father's extensive search. In 1992 the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

claimed to have identified his body. However, Tonie and Valmai Holt (authors of the successful ''Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guides'') doubted the "identification" and researched John's life and death in detail, writing the first biography of John Kipling, entitled ''My Boy Jack?'' In November 2007 the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

mounted an exhibition covering John Kipling's life and included a section on the Holts' doubts about the identification of his corpse. The ITV drama does not claim to be a documentary account, but a representation of the experience of so many families who lost sons during the Great War.

Dramatis Personae

, a writer * John "Jack" Kipling, his son * Caroline "Carrie" Kipling, his wife * Elsie "Bird" Kipling, his daughter *Guardsman McHugh *Guardsman Bowe *Guardsman Doyle *Mr. Frankland *Major Sparks *Col. Rory Pottle *

George Bambridge George Louis St Clair Bambridge (27 September 1892 – 16 December 1943) was a British diplomat. His wife, Elsie (née Kipling), was the daughter of the author Rudyard Kipling. Life Early life and education George Louis St Clair Bambridge ...

Plot

Act One

''My Boy Jack'' begins comically, with 15-year-old Jack Kipling trying on a pair of

pince-nez Pince-nez ( or , plural form same as singular; ) is a style of glasses, popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, that are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French ''pincer'', "to pinch ...

. He is unable to see well without correction, but his father, Rudyard Kipling, wants him to wear the pince-nez to take his vision exam; it will make Jack's vision troubles look less serious. Jack fails the test, however; he cannot read the eye chart, without the pince-nez, from farther away than about a metre. Jack, at home again, talks with Elsie, his sister. He explains that he wants to leave in order to get away from "this house and everything", and Elsie becomes angry with Jack — not because he wants to leave her, but because he could be killed at war. Kipling comes into the room, and Elsie hides behind a chair. Kipling then tells Jack that he will get Jack into the army, somehow. After Kipling leaves, Elsie emerges, furious. The act ends with Jack leading his men into battle. In the theatre, there is then an interval.

Act Two

This part of ''My Boy Jack'' deals with the Kipling family receiving the news of Jack being declared Missing In Action. During an argument with Carrie, Kipling reveals his guilt and responsibility helping Jack enlist in the army. Elsie reveals that Jack went to war, not out of patriotism, but to get away from his family, particularly to escape the shadow of Kipling's fame. There is then a flashback to a time when Jack was only seven, showing Jack and Elsie with their father. It is now 1924, and Elsie is marrying George Bambridge. Her parents, though still missing Jack, are beginning to move on; they are happy for Elsie. Kipling has been interviewing soldiers from Jack's regiment of

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

. One of them who served under Jack recalls his last moments. Jack had been leading a charge against the German trenches, continuing the attack while the other soldiers dropped off in fear. Jack was killed by machine gun fire just as he reached enemy lines. Kipling received some bittersweet solace in knowing that his son died heroically. The play then jumps forward nine years, to 1933. It has been twenty years since ''My Boy Jack'' first began, in 1913. There are rumours of war, again, and Kipling wonders why the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was even fought. What was the point of his son's death, if there will just be another war? ''My Boy Jack'' ends with Kipling reciting his poem, '' My Boy Jack''.Ben Silverstone & Get Real
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Cast

References

External links

''My Boy Jack''
at the

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''My Boy Jack'' review
at

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{{Rudyard Kipling, state=collapsed 1997 plays British plays adapted into films Plays about World War I Rudyard Kipling