The Trials Of Rule Britannia [The Trials of Mrs Rule Britannia]

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

This ‘pantomime skit’ is well written and at times really witty. The leading idea is that the Devil tries to get the better of ‘Mrs Rule Britannia’ and is always defeated by her good fairies ‘Colonia’ a VAD and a lady clerk. The play starts in Hades and there are various jokes about standing in queues for the fire and other ‘local colour’ jokes, as it were, and Colonia prevents Mrs Rule Britannia from asking the Devil to stay. Then he makes up as a wounded soldier to move her compassion and a VAD gives him a drink which shrivels him up. Finally there is a really funny satire on red tape in the ‘Purchase Permit Department’. The point of the whole affair is rather vague and it depends on its individual jokes. The only possible objection to it is treating the Devil as a comic personage. But that has often been done before; he is made merely like a pantomime demon and nobody, I should think, would take it seriously. Recommended for license. G. S. Street.

Researcher's Summary:

Although the script lists no author, newspapers reveal that the author was Mr H. Rottenburg, a former member of the Cambridge Footlights. The sketch only appears to have been performed once, on Shrove Tuesday, 1918.