Theatre Royal, Halifax

The Stage, 11 March 1915, listed The Man Who Stayed at Home (Taylor Platt) as On Tour from 8 March at the R., Halifax. The Man Who Stayed at Home is ‘one of the most fascinating and gripping pieces which has been staged in Halifax for a long time … it lacks nothing in completeness so far as the German spy system is concerned. There is a wireless apparatus concealed in the parlour fireplace, the waiter has plans of minefields in his waistcoat pocket, the son has revolvers ever ready, flash lamps are always at hand, and the German fraulein is full of subtle strategy. The piece is splendidly interpreted by Mr. E. Taylor Platt’s company’. The cast included Charles Esdale, Frances Davie, Goodwin Nock, Grahame Herington, Mary Lincoln, Dorothy Hall, Russell Bendle. Halifax Evening Courier, 9 March 1915.

‘Arthur Rosebery’s successful play, “For Sweethearts and Wives,” which has made such a sensation at the Borough, Stratford, during the past week, opens with the full London company to-morrow at the Theatre Royal, Halifax’ (The People, 12 August 1917). Advertised in the Halifax Evening Courier, 17 August 1917 as ‘The Naval Drama of To-day’.

‘“Searchlights at The Royal. “Searchlights” has nothing to do with raids or guns, and has, indeed, little to do with the war, although the early stages of the conflict are reflected in the dialogue. It is a comedy domestic drama by H. A. Vachell, in which the distinctive characters afford scope for some very fine acting. The wealthy Robert Blain and his wife are not happily married. Blain has a suspicion, which grows into a certainty, that Harry Blain – a careless, light-hearted young fellow who is idolised by his mother - is not his son. In a tense scene Mrs. Blain, enraged by Blain’s harsh treatment of Harry, blurts out the truth, and in the evolution of the story from this point the attention of the audience is closely held. Robert Blain as depicted by Mr. Arthur Bawtree is a human iceberg, and his rigid, unsentimental personality is utterly repellent. Mrs. Blain is much more attractive, and in the hands of Edith Hunter sympathy is aroused for the woman who has sinned. Mr. Robert Brasher is delightful as Harry Blain, a young man who candidly admits that his pseudo-father is a money-maker, while he is a money-spender. Sir Adalbert Schmaltz, a German naturalised, and his English wife figure prominently in the early stages of the play, and are well portrayed by Mr. Leo Casselli and Miss Bessie Bedford; and Phoebe Schmaltz, whom Harry is in love with, is effectively impersonated by Miss Nan Bevill’. Halifax Evening Courier, 6 November 1917.

Performed as Home From The Trenches. Mentioned in advertisements in The Stage, 27 June 1918 and The Era, 26 June 1918. Advertised in the Halifax Evening Courier, 27 June 1918: on Friday night only The Voice on the ‘Phone [by Clifford Rean] would be played.

‘This patriotic play [“The Alien”] is staged at the premier entertainment house [the Theatre Royal]. The author, Mr. W. A. Tremayne, has written a very entertaining drama which does not demand too much credulity from his audience. On the contrary, he follows closely on the lines with which German warfare, espionage and financial intrigue have made us more or less familiar. In addition, one could scarcely imagine a more convincing picture of French patriotism than that of Louis Le Roy, the Alsatian, and this role in the capable hands of Mr. W. S. Hartford is distinctly noteworthy. It is a play worthy of much better support than that accorded to it on the opening night. Mr. Hartford must also be credited with having drawn together a very capable all-round company, and this is strongly emphasised in the parts of Miss T. Osborne (Mary Carson), Miss Ida Straham (Laura Harwood), Miss D. Fitzherbert (Mrs. Parker) who supplied the comedy element in very approved style, and Mr. R. Rayne [sic – Bayne], who as a sham Belgian, otherwise a millionaire German agent, sustained his part with the requisite amount of genteel villainy. The settings and the costumes are really first-class and it can only be repeated that “The Alien” is a play well worth of public patronage. The drama is prefaced with an amusing one-act comedy, “O’Callaghan,” in which Mr. Hartford depicts a ruined Irish landlord as to the manner born’. Halifax Evening Courier, 3 December 1918.

‘“The Live Wire,” one of the most successful and certainly the most exciting of all the “Spy plays,” pays a visit to the Royal next week. It is chiefly concerned with the ingenious methods adopted by the German secret agents in this country, and, as such, is of interest, for, although we all hope that the war is a thing of the past, we shall still have to fight the Germans in commerce' (Halifax Evening Courier, 11 January 1919). ‘It is very rarely that one can say of a provincial production that it is up to the London standard. Yet this is the case with “The Live Wire,” which Mr. Andre Charlot is presenting at the Royal this week. There is less characterisation on the part of the artistes than at the St. Martin’s Theatre, and ... the result is that the plot is more incisive and the excitement more gripping' (Halifax Evening Courier, 14 January 1919).

Performed as part of a series of plays presented at the theatre this week.

Performed by the Alfred Denville company with Wilson Howard, Joan Carrington, Esme Lewis, and H. P. Owen.