Devil and the Nuns

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

At a convent in the Italian mountains the Mother Superior and her nuns hospitably entertain a mysterious traveller driven there by stress of weather. At the end of the meal the guest, proclaiming himself a Troubadour, offers to pay by song, and in the course of the ditty the fascinated Nuns denote its demoralizing effect by "disrobing" for a dance and by "falling at the finish in an abandoned attitude". The one exception is a novice who has just confessed to the Mother her reluctance to leave the pleasures of the world and take the veil but who now announces "I am ready to take the vows". The moral of the little allegory seems to be that the temptations of the evil may miss their intended effect: and this is emphasized by the singing of the Ave Maria as the curtain falls after the troubadour has vanished. I am sure that this little allegory is meant well, though I should like to know what some Catholic authority would think of its desirability on the stage. In any case the effect of the Devil's demoralizing ditty (the words of which are not given), as described on p.6 should be modified. On these conditions the piece is Recommended for Licence, Ernest A. Bendall. [In red ink the following is added below] Subject to an undertaking received licence may be issued.

Researcher's Summary:

The authors ‘Elstob’ and ‘Storr’ were probably Clare Elstob and Marguerite Storr. The former is listed in Allardyce Nicoll, ‘English Drama 1900-1930’ as the author of several plays around this time; and Nicoll lists Clare Elstob and Marguerite Storr as co-authors of ‘The Borgia’ and ‘Three Months’ (confirmed by reviews in The Era, 20 June 1917 and 3 April 1918 respectively), which are also in the Great War Theatre database. No evidence for a performance of ‘The Devil and The Nuns’ has been found. It is not mentioned in the Westminster Gazette which earlier in January 1918 had advertised the show that was at the Margaret Morris Theatre. See also Clare Elstob’s ‘The Tragic Muse’ which was licensed for performance at the same venue at the same time.