Bertrand Russell is perhaps no better known for his theater criticism than Frank Rich is for his mathematical proofs, but nevertheless Russell did venture to share his thoughts, in The Observer, about Miles Malleson’s 1933 play Yours Unfaithfully (through February 18 at the Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row), which at that time had been published but not produced. “The subject is treated delightfully, with humor and kindliness and without any dogmatic conclusion,” Russell wrote of the play. “The characters behave as real people do behave, and not according to some convention of the theatre.” What Russell neglected to mention, however, is that the play appears to draw inspiration from the behavior of (among others) . . . Russell.

Malleson, sixteen years Russell’s junior and like the older man a Cantabrigian, made something of a stir at Emmanuel College as an undergraduate, where a Conservative MP named G. B. Haddock was scheduled to appear to make a speech setting out the traditionalist case for women at a Cambridge Debating Society event. When Haddock unexpectedly canceled his appearance, Malleson told the event organizer not to fret: He would simply take the politician’s place. Malleson got himself made up as a much older man and gave a speech in the MP’s stead that was taken at face value by the local papers. So impressed by this episode were Malleson’s parents that they gave their blessing when he announced he intended to continue his studies at drama school. Malleson