Ex-Corporal Stubbs, Investigator

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

The hero of this melodramatic comedietta is a private detective who, when called in by Lord Arthur Chesney of the foreign office to trace the thief of some secret papers, discovers that Lady Chesney is being blackmailed by her butler, a German spy, who knows of her bygone intrigue with an English major. This lover behaves like a cur in inciting Lady Chesney to save her own honour at the price of her husband's; but the resource and determination of Stubs enable her to save both, through his justifiable homicide in making an end of the spy. The moral is perhaps doubtful; but rude justice is accomplished so the vigorous playlet is recommended for license. Ernest A. Bendall.

Researcher's Summary:

No evidence has been found for a performance of this sketch, either in 1915 or in any other year. Horace Hunter did appear in a new sketch at the King's, Southsea on 20 September 1915 but it was called 'Next Please' (also in the Great War Theatre database) and an account of it in The Era, 20 October 1915, confirms that its plot had nothing to do with that of Ex-Corporal Stubbs, Investigator. In 2017 the King's Theatre, Portsmouth, adapted this play as part of the Arts Council funded project 'Lost Plays of WW1' project. Using the comedy melodrama as a starting point, Andrew Baguley and Janet Rawson from Twisted Event Presents re-wrote it as a radio play, The Devious Hun and the Plucky Ex-Corporal. You can listen to the radio play at: https://kingsportsmouth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Devious-Hun_mixdownSmall.mp3