Exhibition in Treasures Gallery marks the centenary of the birth of Sir Terence Rattigan (1911 – 1977)

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of the English playwright Sir Terence Rattigan, the British Library will be displaying a series of items from his archive in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures Gallery from 5 April until July 2011. Featuring items such as the original scripts of Cause Célèbre, Follow my Leader and Flare Path as well as photographs and letters, this display will throw light on the life and times of one of the 20th Century's most iconic playwrights. In the 1950s Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan – only the second English playwright to be knighted in the 20th century – was the single most successful playwright in Britain. Two of his plays French Without Tears in 1936 and Separate Tables in 1956 had West End runs of more than 1,000 performances, a record not yet equalled