The Daughter-in-Law

Set against the background of a pit strike, The Daughter-in-Law tells the story of Luther Gascoyne, a young miner, and his newly wed wife Minnie, a former governess. The tensions and misunderstandings they suffer as a result of their different backgrounds are exacerbated by the powerful influence of Luther’s mother and brought to open conflict when it is discovered that Luther, before his marriage, has made another woman pregnant. As the labor unrest comes to a boil, so does the simmering conflict between Luther and Minnie.

The Daughter-in-Law is D.H. Lawrence’s portrayal of a marriage in crisis. The play was written in 1913, when Lawrence was still a schoolteacher in Croydon, but it went unproduced until 1967. Mint first produced Lawrence’s play in 2003, and it remains one of its most popular and successful productions.