Jewish playwright Arthur Miller’s debut play will get its world premiere in London after being lost for decades in a university archive.

No Villain was written in 1936, when the Great Depresson had left the Miller family with money problems.

Miller entered the play, about a family in depression-era New York and considered his most autobiographical work, into a Michigan University writing competition and won the £250 prize. But it was never performed and lay hidden in the university’s archives for over 80 years.

British writer Sean Turner tracked down the work after learning of its existence in Miller’s autobiography.

He told The Times: “I became fascinated by a brief fleeting section where he talks about his first play. I was annoyed that I did not have this one and could not find it. So I set about to try and discover it.”

The Miller Trust gave permission to Mr Turner to stage the play in London. It will performed at the Red Lion Theatre in December.