Merton Hodge

Merton Emerton Hodge (March 28 1903 – October 9 1958) was a playwright, actor and medical practitioner.

Born in Taruheru, Poverty Bay, New Zealand, he studied at Kings College in Auckland, Otago Medical School in 1925, graduated in 1928 (M.B., Ch.B), completed post-graduate studies at Edinburgh University.

As well as continuing his medical studies Hodge pursed his life-long interest in theatre and continued to write plays through-out his working medical life.

Plays
Hodge is best known for The Wind and the Rain, which was performed 1000 times in London's West End, six months on New York's Broadway, toured the world and was translated into nine languages. Plays produced in London:
 * The Wind and the rain, St Martin's Theatre, 1933, 1934, 1935;
 * Grief goes over, Globe Theatre, 1935;
 * Men in white (anglicised form), Lyric Theatre, 1935;
 * The Orchard walls, St James Theatre, 1937;
 * The Island, Comedy Theatre, 1938;
 * Story of an African farm, New Theatre (from Olive Schreiner's novel), 1938;
 * To Whom we belong, Q Theatre, 1939;
 * Once there was music, Q Theatre, 1942;

Recordings

 * My Life in the Theatre, series for overseas broadcast for British Broadcasting Service.

His suicide by drowning came in Dunedin in 1958.

Publications
The plays The Wind and the rain, Grief goes over, Men in white, The Island, Story of an African farm and a novelised version of The Wind and the rain, 1936.