the play by John Drinkwater.
With Malcolm Keen as Abraham Lincoln.

This play by the late John Drinkwater - he died on March 23 this year - was first produced at Birmingham in 1918. It deals with those eventful years in America from the time Lincoln was asked to be President until the end of the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination in a theatre. Lincoln's humanity and inflexible sense of duty are finely portrayed, but a feature contributing to the greatness of this play is the careful characterisation of minor parts, however small. Although Abraham Lincoln is not altogether historically accurate, John Drinkwater managed to achieve drama without taking any serious liberties with facts.
Malcolm Keen is a fine actor with a commanding presence, and viewers should see him at his best as Abraham Lincoln. He has been on the stage since he was fourteen, and has played principal parts in almost every type of play, from Shakespeare to thrillers.