Great War Theatre

Address: Birmingham, UK

Performances at this Theatre

Date Script Type
13 Sep 1915 The Light Rules [Blues] Unknown
1 Nov 1915 The Man Who Stayed At Home Professional
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‘The return visit to Birmingham of that successful spy play, “The Man Who Stayed Home,” attracted a large and appreciative audience to the Prince of Wales Theatre last night, and the excellence of the acting, coupled with the topical interest attaching to the story, makes it a thoroughly enjoyable show. It is a very cohesive and absorbing story of the William Le Queux type which the authors have written, with the ramification of the German espionage and the British Secret Service the central features. The introduction of events of the war which occupy the minds of the public very largely at the moment, add a spice to the dialogue, which is replete with really fine humour’. The cast included George Tully, Esty Marsh, Laurie Flockton, C. Haviland-Burke, Eugenie Vernie, Gladys Hamilton, Charles Grenville (Evening Despatch, 2 November 1915). ‘The successful spy play, as “The Man Who Stayed at Home” is called, has been seen before in Birmingham, and the first thing that occurs to one in writing about it is that though less than twelve months old it already seems a little out of date. When produced at the Royalty Theatre last December the German spy mania was general, and the prevalent fears and suspicions were far from baseless. To-day, with alien internment camps pretty well filled the public mind is not haunted, at least to anything like the same extent, with such apprehensions. To discuss whether this dramatic tract for the times served its purpose is unnecessary. To-day “The Man Who Stayed at Home” has to be judged simply from the acting and box office points of view. It is melodrama pure and simple, a thrill provided on a most generous scale, and consequently a play that will book well, certainly as long as the war lasts … interest and excitement are never allowed to flag, and … for those who like this kind of domestic entertainment their requirements are thoroughly met’ (Birmingham Daily Post, 2 November 1915). ‘Some years ago the management of a Drury Lane theatre tried to displace its usual autumn drama by a new kind play, which it entitled “melo-farce.” Unfortunately the experiment was a failure. But if the authors had lived to see “The Man Who Stayed At Home” they would have seen the triumph of their idea. This play is a most entertaining blend of melodrama and comedy, and we can think of no better description for it than “melo-farce.’’ It is left to the playgoer’s individual frame of mind to decide whether the farcical or the melodramatic element eventually comes out on top; but nobody can have any doubt about the cleverness of the way in which the two sections of the play are mingled and interwoven. And there is further the author’s cleverness in making their jolly hotch-potch so pointedly topical, so bang up-to-date. The melodrama of the play is all about German spies, submarines, and plans of fortifications; its comedy is about enlisting the phantom “Russians” and the New Armies. One might have thought that a year and a half after its first production the play’s topical application would have faded; but its continued success in London proves that it has not, as the warm welcome given the piece at the Prince Wales Theatre last night also proved. “The Man Who Stayed At Home” is, in fact, the most successful, as it is the most entertaining, of all our war plays. There have been others which have aimed at a more ambitious mark; but there has been none which has so happily reached its aim’ (Birmingham Mail, 2 November 1915).
4 Dec 1915 The Division Bell Unknown
27 Dec 1915 Vivien Unknown
30 Oct 1916 Kultur At Home Professional
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'The play is good of its kind, but in times like the present, when most people go the theatre to seek forgetfulness of the grim tragedy which is occupying their thoughts from day to day, one feels that an apology is due for the presentation of a problem play dealing with the war. If the purpose of the play be to enforce some lesson it is necessary for the nation to learn in order to bring the war to speedier end, well and good. But there is no such purpose inspiring the authors of “Kultur at Home.” On the contrary, it deals with a problem which, although acute enough before the war, is hardly likely to arise for long time after it, and not at all while it is in progress. The motive of the play is very similar to that in “His German Wife,” but the position of husband and wife is reversed, and the dramatic element is much more pronounced. From an artistic point of view the play possesses serious faults - faults of exaggeration, of anachronism, and of distortion of facts, which are the more glaring and irritating because the motive is sufficiently strong in itself to produce an equally dramatic result without any such violation. There were moments when one felt an almost irresistible desire to rise from one’s seat and protest, and there were distinct of impatience in the stalls as well as in the gallery. One could pass over the references to newspapers which suggested when British intervention in the European imbroglio became imminent that by remaining neutral we might capture the trade of both sides. But there were signs of unrest when a representative of the English peerage accused the Foreign Office of sitting on the fence, and expressed the fear that the French would scorn to accept his services in the Foreign Legion. Even in Luxembourg on August 5th an Englishman ought to have known better. Apart from these faults, which the authors seem to have incurred through striving after dramatic effect, which the motive of the play was quite capable of affording without such unnecessary effort, the play is well written, and strikes a truly dramatic note'. Birmingham Mail, 31 October 1916. ‘Of the several plays inspired by the war “Kultur at Home,” which is making its first appearance in Birmingham at. the Prince of Wales Theatre this week, has perhaps created the greatest sensation since “The Man Who Stayed at Home” was produced. The idea of the authors is to give a picture of the German officer and the German wife as they are to be found in their natural environment, and the story throughout is suggestive of the brutal bullying nature of the Prussian officer and the weak, suffering humility of his frau. It is not a pleasant story, rather is it repellent, but it is exceedingly interesting and very human, though at times the characters appear rather overdrawn'. Birmingham Daily Gazette, 31 October 1916. '“Kultur at Home" … interprets in an admirable degree the spirit of the times; it breathes the atmosphere of enmity engendered by war, the view of one belligerent as seen by another. In depicting German “kultur” or frightfulness, to use the term with which it has become synonymous, nothing can too grotesque or ugly, and had the authors attempted to paint in more lurid colours the devilry - what Sir Oliver Lodge calls “the able, well organised, but evil, devilry” – of the Germans the enthusiasm which the audience displayed at the close of last evening’s performance might have been even greater … the piece demands a peculiar frame of mind, a sense of overwhelming patriotism, in order to be enjoyed. To approach it from any other point of view is to court disappointment. Certainly the ardent pacifist will not like it; but perhaps if he reads its real meaning and interpretation something will have been done to secure his conversion. Frankly, it is a caricature - a drawing of an enemy, in which the more gross the distortion the more acceptable it becomes. The author who in these times attempts to present with an eye only to artistic truth and impartiality the fundamental differences of two nations at war sets himself a task in which he can scarcely hope to be successful. With the drama of war invading every sphere, touching intimately every home, we are apt to lose our sense of proportion, and become impatient at any attempt to exhibit the German ideal in impartial terms. Not that there is much effort made in this direction in the play under notice. “Kultur at Home” is crude; it is the doctrine of brute force, as it might be expected to apply to the home life of a German with an English wife. The result appeals with irresistible force to audiences at the moment'. Birmingham Daily Post, 31 October 1916.
20 Nov 1916 Young England Unknown
10 Dec 1917 Peace Time Prophecies or Stories Gone Wrong Professional
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‘Of all the Revues staged in Birmingham, the only one which has deserved the name is “Bubbly,” the lively entertainment which André Charlot presented at the Comedy Theatre, London. The performance occupies “two acts and ten bubbles.” There are three very clever “bubbles.” The first of these is “The Eternal Triangle” among the cave dwellers of prehistoric times. The second is “Peace Time Prophecies, or Stories Gone Wrong,” the first part of which – “The Worst ‘Ole of All,” is a genial satire upon what will happen to “Old Bill” when he returns home after the war; the second part, “The Comforts of Home,” show what will happen in similar circumstances to a major, who longs for the tumult of the trenches and lullaby of the guns ... Mr. Edmund Russell, who is Old Bill, a typical Major, an Admiral, and half a dozen other distinct characters, is laughable in all' (Birmingham Daily Post, 11 December 1917). ‘“Bubbly,” which is being presented by Mr. Andre Charlot at the Prince of Wales Theatre this week (having recently started its first provincial tour, after a highly successful run at the Comedy), represents revue absolutely at its best. Mr. J. Hastings Turner, who is responsible for the book, has got the true conception of revue. “Bubbly” is no mere stringing together of a series of vaudeville turns, but a really clever creation possessing a substantial and artistic fabric, notwithstanding the suggestion of flimsiness in the title. It is not the bubbling of soapsuds, but of champagne, the rarest of champagne, which retains its sparkle and bouquet to the last ... Two of the best bubbles are “The Worst ‘Ole of All” and “The Comforts of Home,” the former presenting Old Bill as a decidedly unwilling lion of society, with a desire for vengeance against Capt. Bairnsfather for making him a hero, and the latter a screamingly funny conception of a major who after years in the trenches is unable to settle down to soft cushions, curtained windows, and the repose destroying silence of a night without archies, whiz-bangs, and machine guns' (Birmingham Daily Mail, 11 December 1917).
3 Jun 1918 Sinners Unknown
12 Aug 1918 Peace Time Prophecies or Stories Gone Wrong Professional
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‘“Bubbly,” which was warmly welcomed on its return visit to the Prince Wales Theatre last night, possesses the quality, rare in these days, of setting a high standard and living up to it ... Mr. Edmund Russell displays high talents as an exponent of broad comedy in various roles such as “Old Bill” attempting to escape tbs blandishments of the notoriety-hunting Duchess, or the peppery Major returned to the devastating silence of his home, who cannot sleep without the din of war in his ears’ (Birmingham Mail, 13 August 1918). ‘The good impression made by Bubbly when it was here in December last was abundantly confirmed on the return visit last night. The term revue has been so misapplied that when they get the real article a considerable section of the public do not quite understand it. That explains why one or two of the “bubbles,” as the scenes are called, did not make the successful appeal they should have done. A parody, of course, is not intelligible, or at least effective, unless the thing burlesqued is known. But everybody knows “Old Bill” and the ingenious way the author has travestied him made this particular bubble the most iridescent of the lot ...' (Birmingham Daily Post, 13 August 1918). ‘… Mr. Edmund Russell has a great amount of work to do, and does it all well. He gives us Old Bill in a new light, and this is perhaps the cleverest of his many clever impersonations, because it is so genuinely humorous and yet human’ ( Evening Despatch, 13 August 1918). Also reviewed in the Birmingham Daily Gazette, 13 August 1918
21 Apr 1919 Seven Days Leave Professional
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Company including Henry Lonsdale, Ernest Leicester, Godfrey Ward, Sidney Benson, Lilian Christine, Phyllis de Lange, and Hilda Antony.
11 Aug 1919 Peace Time Prophecies or Stories Gone Wrong Professional
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‘“Bubbly,” which is being given for the third time in Birmingham, is a bright and merry production, embracing all that is best in revue. A number of original items, bright dresses, tuneful music, and a good sprinkling of comedy combine to make it a most enjoyable show. Edmund Russell and Ivy Tresmand continue to lead a capable company. The latter is both dainty and lively, being seen in some good dancing numbers with R. Barrett-Lennard’ (Birmingham Daily Gazette, 12 August 1919). At the Prince of Wales, Birmingham: ‘“Bubbly” is quite one of the best pieces of its kind. It is full of good music and crisp comedy – in fact, there is a wholesome variety about it all which makes for easy digestion. Prominent in the cast are Ivy Tresmand, who sings and dances effectively; Edmund Russell, R. Barrett Lennard, and May Tresmand. There are, of course, many others in Ralph Haslam’s company, but it is sufficient perhaps to say that “Bubbly” is given according to the best traditions’ (The Stage, 14 August 1919).