Milestones (play)


Milestones is a 1912 play by Arnold Bennett and Edward Knoblock. It is a story of an upper-middle-class family's progress between 1860 and 1912.

First productions

The play opened at the Royalty Theatre, London, on 5 March 1912 and ran for 612 performances. In September 1912 it opened at the Liberty Theatre, New York, where it ran for 215 performances.

Original cast

The New York cast was headed by Leslie Faber as John Rhead.

Plot

The play depicts the generational clashes within a prosperous English family, all concerning the matrimonial wishes of the rising generation and their parents' opposition to it. Act I is set in 1860; Act 2 in 1885; Act 3 in 1912. The following is from The Times's summary of the plot in its review of the first performance.

Film adaptations

The play was adapted into silent films on two occasions. A 1916 British film Milestones directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Owen Nares and a 1920 American film Milestones directed by Paul Scardon and starring Lewis Stone.