Back From Overseas

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

This is an ingenuous spy-play, dealing with the nefarious proceedings of a naturalized German and his son, the former in the sea-coast town where they live, and the matter in the trenches abroad. Opposed to them are one of their servants and her soldier-sweetheart, while matters are further complicated by the younger villain's base treatment of the local postmistress, whom his father bribes for the purposes of his frauds. The plot is full of improbabilities in its action both civil and military: and the 'signalling' business both at home and abroad is rather difficult to understand. But the crudity of the melodrama is quite free from offence while its patriotic sentiment is perfectly sound. Recommended for Licence. Ernest A. Bendall.

Researcher's Summary:

The play was anticipated in The Stage, 2 May 1918 in an advertisement for Wilson Howard’s The Broken Trail which mentioned ‘new production shortly, “Back From Overseas”. Both plays produced and toured under the personal supervision of the Author’. The Broken Trail and Back From Overseas, both written by Wilson Howard, were produced by the touring company run by Maud Warburton and Wilson Howard, both of whom also performed in the plays. Back From Overseas was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Dewsbury on Friday 24 May 1918. It was usual thereafter for Back From Overseas to be performed in conjunction with another Wilson Howard play, initially The Broken Trail and later (from late 1918 or early 1919) Let There Be Light. Details of performances shown in the database track the movements of the Maud Warburton – Wilson Howard company during the period when Back From Overseas was included in their repertoire. However, it is not possible to be certain about when and how often Back From Overseas was performed rather than the other play(s) being toured with it. There is an apparent discrepancy concerning the week 17-22 June 1918. On the one hand, The Broken Trail is listed in The Stage, 13 and 20 June 1918 as being ‘on tour’ at the ‘R., Stockport’ from 17 June. On the other hand, an advertisement for Back From Overseas and The Broken Trail in The Stage, 20 June 1918 gives Wilson Howard’s address that week as the Hippodrome, Nuneaton and an advertisement in The Stage, 27 June 1918 contains claims about the success of Back From Overseas at Nuneaton the previous week. Perhaps another company had been given permission to perform The Broken Trail at Stockport. The Examiner of Plays called Back From Overseas a ‘spy play’ and that is how it was often advertised (The Stage, 6 and 20 June, 12 September and 31 October 1918 and 13 February 1919; The Era, 18 September 1918). Local newspapers promoted it in the same way (Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 4 June 1918; Newcastle Journal, 16 September 1918; Yorkshire Evening Post, 22 October 1918; Jarrow Express, 6 and 13 December 1918). However, the theme of the internment of enemy aliens was also identified. The Western Morning News, 31 August 1918 noted, ‘The play is on one of the burning subjects of the day - the internment question - which the author propounds and answers in eight scenes of thrilling and absorbing interest’; and the play was advertised in the same newspaper on 6 September 1918 as ‘The New Drama on the Internment Question’. Subsequently Back From Overseas was advertised as ‘The “Should Aliens be Interned” Spy-Play’ in The Stage, 10 and 17 October 1918. It is perhaps surprising that the internment of enemy aliens was seen as a topic of current interest in 1918 since it had been practised since shortly after the outbreak of the war and had intensified from May 1915 (https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/enemy-aliens-great-britain-1914-1919). It has not been possible to identify dates for performances in Poplar (mentioned with no further information in an advertisement in The Era, 9 October 1918) and at the Hippodrome, Wednesbury (venue but no date(s) mentioned in an advertisement in The Stage, 23 January 1919). Two other repertory companies were given permission to perform the play. Messrs. King and Parry’s company, which was based at the Grand Theatre, Plymouth, performed it there from 2 to 7 September 1918 (having performed The Broken Trail the previous month). Albert Sember’s company, which was based at the Theatre Royal, Sunderland, performed it there from 30 September to 5 October 1918.