The Enemy

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

An episode of the war and pleasant after the stereotyped brutality we have generally received in that it presents a German officer as a man with decent feelings. He comes to a farm - apparently near Soissons - and behaves himself roughly but without brutality, and speaks humanly to the farmer and his wife about his own wife and child. He goes to sleep and in the night the farmer's little daughter creeps into the room out of curiosity to see him. It is pitch dark and he, suspecting treachery, hits out with the butt end of his revolver. When he gets a light he sees that (as he supposes) he has unwittingly killed a child. He is full of remorse and goes out. The farmer and his wife enter and also think the child is dead; they suppose the German officer had murdered her and curse him. Later, after a skirmish outside, he is brought in on a stretcher by French soldiers. The farmer, maddened with grief, goes to kill him and is stopped by a doctor. Then it appears that the child is only stunned and the dying German explains and dies in peace with the good people. Painful, but decent and human.

Researcher's Summary:

A performance of this play took place the week of 30 November 1914 at the Bedford. The music was by A. Lieth. It appears to have been the only time the play was staged.