The Children's Hour (play)

The Children's Hour
First edition 1934
Written by	Lillian Hellman
Characters	Evelyn Munn Mrs Lily Mortar Peggy Rogers Helen Burton Lois Fisher Catherine Rosalie Wells Mary Tilford Karen Wright Martha Dobie Doctor Joseph Cardin Agatha Mrs Amelia Tilford A Grocery Boy
Date premiered	November 20, 1934 (1934-11-20)
Place premiered	Maxine Elliott Theatre, New York City
Original language	English
Subject	A child's lies destroy the lives of two women at a boarding school for girls
Genre	Drama

The Children's Hour is a 1934 American play by Lillian Hellman. It is a drama set in an all-girls boarding school run by two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. An angry student, Mary Tilford, runs away from the school and, to avoid being sent back, tells her grandmother that the two headmistresses are having a lesbian affair. The accusation proceeds to destroy the women's careers, relationships, and lives.

The play was first staged on Broadway at the Maxine Elliott Theatre in 1934, produced and directed by Herman Shumlin. In 1936, it was presented in Paris and at London's Gate Theatre Studio.