Theatre Royal, Woolwich

The Era, 19 May 1915, reviewed Remember Belgium, ‘A Play, in Eight Scenes, by Percy Brown, Produced for the First Time in London at the Theatre Royal, Woolwich, on Monday, May 10’. The cast was: Colonel Featherstone, Gilbert Elvin; John Grant, Arthur Lowrey; George Grant, Cliffe Deane; Fritz Siegenbach, Percy Brown; Kelly Cackles, Wally Ives; Polydore Lierbaryhe, K. Victor Homes; Joe Sprout, Geo. Morris; Pte. Kendall, R.F.C., Jack Walton; Pte. K. Holt, R.A.M.C., G. H. Stirling; Pte. J. Annesley, R.A.M.C., K. W. Miles; Mrs. Featherstone, Lelia Drummond; Mrs. Cackles, Effie Dane; Marie, Vida Haslewood. The review continued: ‘The hero of the above play is George, the adopted son of John Grant, who had been taken as a child from a Belgian soldier and brought up as an English gentleman’. George turns out to be the son of Colonel Featherstone. He enlists in the British Army, and finds his way to the front. At a spot behind the firing-line the German spy, Fritz Siegenbach, disguised as a Frenchman, has placed a plan of the trenches in an envelope addressed to George. Requested by Colonel Featherstone to open the letter, George, thinking it contains only private papers, refuses. It is opened for him, and documents within stamp him a traitor. The colonel and his wife, who have been long parted, meet on the battlefield, Mrs. Featherstone having become a Red Cross nurse, and the colonel discovers that George is his own son. Hs heart is torn between duty and paternal pride, and to save his good name he gives George the chance to retrieve his good name by bringing back a German flag from a distant farmhouse. During a strong scene between husband and wife, George returns with the flag. Through the machinations of the spy George is accused of being a deserter, but before the word has been given to fire, Marie, George’s sweetheart, rushes between the condemned man and the firing party under the protection of the Red Cross, and the tragedy is averted. The wily German is, of course, made to reap the reward of his misdeeds, and the virtuous are made as happy as the present state of society will allow' (The Era, 19 May 1915).

The Era, 23 and 30 August 1916, listed Home Once More as On The Road from 28 August at the T.R., Woolwich. And when Miss Emma Litchfield’s company advertised Home Once More in The Stage, 24 and 31 August 1916, the address for the week beginning 28 August was the T.R., Woolwich.

Performed by Will Casey and company.

The Era, 25 October 1916, listed The Wife With Two Husbands as On The Road from 23 October at the T.R., Woolwich.

The Era, 8 November 1916, listed The Black Sheep of the Family as On The Road from 6 November at the T.R., Woolwich, presumably with Arthur Hinton's touring company.

The Era, 8 and 15 November 1916, listed The Unmarried Mother as On The Road from 13 November at the T.R., Woolwich. Similarly The Stage, 9 and 16 November 1916.

'The piece is well-staged and dressed, and the story is strong and full of incidents and movement. ... Produced at Barnsley on Boxing Day, the play has since been toured with increased success at each town visited; and now upon its appearance in Greater London, it should gain even more popularity.' ('The Stage', 8 February 1917 p. 16)

The Era, 4 April 1917, listed The Enemy in our Midst (Carlton Wallace’s) as On The Road from 2 April at the T.R., Woolwich.

The Stage, 31 May 1917, listed Always Welcome as On Tour from 24 June at the Royal, Woolwich. And when Miss Emma Litchfield’s company advertised Always Welcome in The Stage, 7 June 1917, the address for that week was the T.R., Woolwich.

When James Hart and Lena Brand, for the 20th week the lead and soubrette in His Last Leave, inserted a theatrical card in The Stage, 11 October 1917, their address for the following week was Woolwich. When F. E. Chabot advertised in The Stage, 18 October 1917, for a ‘good Heavy Man for Military Part (Capt.)’ for His Last Leave, his address was the Theatre Royal, Woolwich.

(The Stage - Thursday 25 October 1917)

When Arthur Hinton advertised in The Stage, 8 November 1917, for theatres for The Black Sheep of the Family, his address for the following week was the T.R., Woolwich. Also listed in The Stage, 15 November 1917.

The details shown are conjectural. Allardyce Nicoll, 'English Drama 1900-1930', lists For Those in Peril on the Sea as performed on 21 January 1918 at Woolwich under the title A Son of the Sea. That week a show called Hiawatha was at the Hippodrome (advertised in The Era, 16 January 1918); and The Stage, 24 January 1918, listed The Bing Boys Are Here that week at the Woolwich Artillery. That leaves the Theatre Royal as a possible venue at Woolwich for A Son of the Sea.

The Stage, 21 February 1918, listed The Voice on the ‘Phone as On Tour from 18 February at the Royal, Woolwich.

The Stage of Thursday 1 August 1918 carried an advertisement for “Married on Leave” by Dorothy Mullord which stated, ‘This play was produced at the T. R., Woolwich, April 15, 1918, and has played continuously ever since’.