'Twixt Love and Duty

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

A patriotic sketch of the distress, bravely borne, of a mother whose son enlists and of her daughter whose sweetheart also has just responded to Lord Kitchener's appeal. One is happy to think that the little piece rings true both in argument and in sentiment. Recommended for license. Ernest A. Bendall

Researcher's Summary:

Several sketches called 'Twixt Love and Duty were performed just before the Great War. One depicted an attempt to wreck an express train. Another, by a 'Sir Basil Shaw', was performed in 1913 as part of a Fred Karno revue, Mumming Birds, and was still being performed in 1917. The sketch by H. Stanton that is in the Great War Theatre database was apparently to be performed at the Bedford Music Hall, London, on 9 August 1915. The Era, 11 August 1915, reviewed Some Glee, a new revue in five scenes produced at the Bedford on 9 August which may have been the intended vehicle for the sketch. The revue’s book and lyrics were by George Asaf. However, The Era’s review does not mention a sketch ‘Twixt Love and Duty; nor do other reviews of Some Glee. The revue comprised five scenes of ‘glees’ set in different locations: in the Park, in the Street, in the Village Schoolroom, outside the Rendezvous and inside the Rendezvous. There seems no room for including a sketch along the lines of Stanton’s. In fact the Birmingham Daily Post, 31 August 1915, noted that ‘[A] feature [of the revue] that will no doubt be refreshing to a large public is that references to the war are avoided’. No evidence has been found to show if, when and where Stanton’s sketch was performed.