Serjeant Musgrave's Dance

Serjeant Musgrave's Dance, An Un-historical Parable [1] is a play by English playwright John Arden, written in 1959 and premiered at the Royal Court Theatre on October 22 of that year.

Serjeant Musgrave and his men, Hurst, Sparky and Attercliffe, come to a northern English coal mining town in 1879, posing as a recruiting party.

Musgrave pretends that this is indeed his goal, and asks Mrs Hitchcock about Billy Hicks, a dead fellow soldier from the mining town.

Continuing the pretence of recruiting townsmen, Musgrave throws a sort of party in Mrs Hitchcock's inn, with free drink for all.

In the final scene, Attercliffe and Musgrave sit in their cell and talk about their differing views of life.

Musgrave tries to do this: and the fact that the sympathies of the play are clearly with him in his original horror, and then turn against him and his intended remedy, seems to have bewildered people... Again I would suggest that an unwillingness to dwell upon unpleasant situations that do not immediately concern us is a general human trait, and recognition of it need imply neither cynicism nor despair.

[3] At the time the play was written, public opinion had not soured on military actions as it did later in the 1960s, primarily due to the coverage of the Vietnam War.

It was only later, in the light of the Vietnam War, that these conflicts also were reported unfavourably, producing a context in which audiences could appreciate Arden's message.

In 1961 Arden adapted his play for television: some cuts to the text allowed the soldiers' real purpose in visiting the town—a requital for the death of Billy Hicks while on service overseas—to be expressed in clearer relief.

The well-received production was directed by Stuart Burge and starred Patrick McGoohan, with members of the original cast (including Donal Donnelly and Freda Jackson) reprising their stage roles.