Fables

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

The ‘fables’ of this vulgar miniature burlesque are those of ‘Red Riding Hood' and ‘Cinderella’. Of the latter the only episodes dealt with are Cinderella’s consolation by the comic Buttons when she is fretting in the kitchen over the forbidden ball, and her pleasant surprise when she is taken there by the prince, who calls for her in person. In ‘Red Riding Hood' a topical turn is given to the nursery tale by turning the wolf into a ferocious German and by introducing to granny’s bedroom both the allies and the enemies of the Huns. The silly notion is ignorantly carried out, but with no offence save in granny’s remark about her late husband’s garments ‘I wish I had what's been in these old trousers' (scene I p.2) and in the allusion (scene I p.5) to Turkey as the 'night soil man’ - which should both be omitted. Recommended for License Ernest A. Bendall.