The First and the Last: A Drama in Three Scenes

In a dimly lit study, the austere Keith Darrant awakens to find his troubled brother Larry standing in the doorway, trembling with a secret that could shatter their lives. Larry confesses, in a hushed, frantic whisper, that he has killed a man—a brutal act driven by his desperate love for a vulnerable Polish girl. The scene crackles with sibling rivalry, guilt, and the uneasy power balance that has defined their relationship.

The play stretches across thirty tense hours, then two months, as the brothers grapple with the moral weight of Larry’s confession and the looming threat of the woman’s abusive former lover. Keith, torn between legal duty and familial loyalty, pressures his brother to decide whether to surrender or conceal the crime, while the specter of the victim’s tragic circumstances fuels a simmering sense of justice. Galsworthy’s tightly constructed three‑scene drama probes the fragile line between conscience and survival, inviting listeners to ponder how far one will go to protect those they love.