The Orange Tree has announced its autumn and winter season and the theatre’s reputation for uncovering lost gems looks set to continue.

Among the selection of plays is a little-known comedy by Wynyard Brown, and The Making of Moo, a biting satire on religion that was first performed at the Royal Court in 1957. The theatre will also continue in its quest to take the works of American playwright Susan Glaspell to a wider audience by staging another of her plays, Alison’s House, and the line-up is completed by a revival of one of the Orange Tree’s most popular Christmas shows. Orange Tree artistic director SAM WALTERS talks us through the new season

The Ring of Truth By Wynyard Brown, directed by Auriol Smith September 3 to October 3

“This is a rediscovery from the 50s – a period we don’t normally do. Brown wrote four plays, all of which were done in the West End, and he died quite young in his early 50s.

“The Ring of Truth is fascinating but there was so much going on in the 50s with Look Back in Anger and Joan Littlewood that a number of plays that ought not to have been lost got swamped and overlooked.

“This is an interesting play on a number of different levels. A ring gets lost and from it all sorts of things escalate – there is a clash between a rational husband who says it doesn’t matter and his wife who sees it as a symbol of their marriage. They agree to try to find it and call in the police, which causes chaos. It happens in all walks of life – from some little thing, mayhem can be created.”

Alison’s House By Susan Glaspell, directed by Jo Combes.

October 7 to November 7

“I’m a bit of a Glaspell addict and Alison’s House has been on my list for a while.

“It is a play that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931. It is based, but I’m not sure how strictly, on Emily Dickinson, whose poetry was found after she died. It was also discovered she had been in love with a married man but it was a love she suppressed.

“The play is about a poet, Alison. After her death, an extra cache of her work comes to light about her love for a married man. There are those who say the poems must never be published as it is scandalous because, although she didn’t run away with the man, she was in love with him. But others say they must be shared with the world. Other characters are also in a similar situation. It is a moving play about love and the changing of sexual morality and values.”

The Making of Moo By Nigel Dennis, directed by Sam Walters November 11 to December 12

“This is a play I saw in 1957, at the Royal Court, and it is sub-titled The History of Religion in Three Acts.

“An engineer builds a dam in a colonial country and discovers he has killed a river god. He tries to build a new religion but it doesn’t develop quite like he thought and he ends up staying forever. In the second act, you see the religion in its human sacrifice stage of development and then, in the final act, it is more benign and there is a Pope-type figure.

“It raises questions about religion, it is a satire rather than an attack. It raises questions about where religious belief comes from, what is founded on, and whether it is a good thing.”

The Lady or the Tiger By Michael Richmond and Jeremy Paul, music by Nola York, directed by Sam Walters December 16 to February 13

“I’ve been thinking we must do it one day in the new theatre. We did it in the room in 1975 and revived it in 1989 – it is charming and very slight. We now have an audience who have never seen it, so it seems like now is the right Christmas to do it.

“It is a musical based on a short story about a princess who falls in love with someone who, for one reason or another, has to choose one of two doors to open. She discovers that behind one is a man-eating tiger and behind the other is a beautiful woman. Either way, she will lose him but does she tell him so he goes off with the girl or not tell him and maybe he gets eaten?”

For more information about the season and to book tickets, visit orangetreetheatre.co.uk