Pitied and badly spoiled by her parents, Helen is taught no discipline and, by the age of six, grows into a wild, angry, tantrum-throwing child in control of the household.

The production was directed by Arthur Penn with scenic and lighting design by George Jenkins and costumes by Ruth Morley.

[5][6] The play was produced in the West End in March 1961 with Anna Massey as Sullivan and Janina Faye as Keller.

Despite critical praise, the revival failed to find an audience and closed on April 4 (after 21 previews and 38 regular performances), with the entire $2,600,000 capitalization in the project being lost.

The overwhelming force of the play's crucial scenes could not have derived from the stirring facts alone, nor from playwright Gibson's vivid use of them.

What proves decisive is the extraordinary performances, the magnificent teamwork of Anne Bancroft and ten-year-old Patty Duke, and the brilliant direction of Arthur Penn".

While noting some of the play's flaws, particularly in the areas of "some knotty Keller family relationships and some eerie Sullivan family memories", which it characterized as "fairly makeshift, at times clumsy, and, when sound-tracking voices from the past, occasionally embarrassing", it praised the scenes that "in the hands of two remarkable actresses, constitute unforgettable theater".