No Villain: Arthur Miller’s first stage play to get its world premiere at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London

Miller wrote the play over six days in 1936 while he was at the University of Michigan

(Eileen Darby/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

Arthur Miller’s first stage play is to be given its world premiere in a British theatre to mark the centenary of the playwright’s birth.

No Villain, written by Miller when he was 20, will open at the Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington, north London, on 8 December with the backing of the Miller Trust.

Sean Turner, who is to direct the production, said: “As far as we know, this is the first time it has been put on. It’s a really rare insight into Miller as a young man and his family.”

Miller wrote the play over six days in 1936 while he was at the University of Michigan. He submitted it for the Avery Hopwood award, which is still running today and included a $250 prize. Despite winning the prize it was not then staged, and few Miller fans will have heard of it.