''The Tiger and the Horse'' is a three-act play by

Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for ''Lawrence of Arabia'', ''Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', ...

, written in 1960. Based on Bolt's own position as a member of the Committee of 100, a British anti-nuclear group, it deals with a university professor faced with choosing to sign a petition to ban nuclear weapons or a chance at vice chancellorship. It takes its title from

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's ''

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'' is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary beliefs ...

'': "The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction." The play's original run coincided with Bolt's '' A Man for All Seasons'' in 1960. It was more financially successful than ''Man'', although it received mixed critical reviews. Its original cast featured

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

as Dean, daughter

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...

, in one of her first major stage roles, as Stella, and

Alan Dobie Alan Russell Dobie (born 2 June 1932) is an English stage, television and film actor and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and career Dobie was born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to George Russe ...

as Louis.

Plot

Jack Dean, a professor of astronomy at a prestigious English university, is the primary candidate for the vice chancellorship after the current vice chancellor, Hugo Slate, retires the position. Dean has a wife, Gwendolyn, and two daughters, Stella and Mary. Louis Flax, a strong-willed, opinionated research fellow who is courting Stella, introduces a petition to ban nuclear weapons. However, Dean refuses to sign it, even though his wife strongly supports the petition. His unwillingness to commit himself slowly drives his wife insane; she feels herself unloved and unappreciated by her husband, but blames herself for it. Meanwhile, Stella becomes pregnant by Louis, and she tries to convince Louis to marry her. Reaching her breaking point, Gwendolyn destroys a

Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to: * Hans Holbein the Elder Hans Holbein the Elder ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Ältere; – 1524) was a German painter. Life Holbein was born in free imperial city of Augsburg (Germany), and died in Issenheim, Alsa ...

portrait of the university's founders and pins the petition to it. This convinces Dean to support his wife and sign the petition, even though it will ruin his chances of becoming vice chancellor.

References

1960 plays British plays Works by Robert Bolt {{1960s-play-stub