Great War Theatre

Also known as: Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Address: Cheltenham, UK

Performances at this Theatre

Date Script Type
2 Nov 1914 To Arms! Professional
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Performed alongside Shakespearean plays by Mr F. R. Benson and company. Performed on Monday, Wednesday, Friday evenings and Saturday.
1 Feb 1915 Ring Off Unknown
24 May 1915 Searchlights Professional
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‘“Searchlights,” by H. A. Vachell, which is being presented by Messrs. Alick Chumley and A. Russell Davis and their company, has been one of the marked successes of the London season, and is still playing to crowded houses at the Savoy Theatre [sic!] ... The plot of “Searchlights” grips, and its dialogue has considerable fascination, both elements contributing largely to the success of a very piquant and clever work. But it is the atmosphere of great modern events, and the lights and shadows thrown over the picture by this that accounts for the unique place amongst recent productions' (Gloucestershire Echo, 25 May 1915).
4 Sep 1916 When Love Creeps In Your Heart Professional
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Performed by Leonard Mortimer's Company.
16 Oct 1916 Kultur At Home Professional
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'It is not a melodrama with cheap attempts at sensationalism, realism, and “local colour,” but an intensely interesting study of life in a German garrison town, just before the outbreak of the war, by two gifted dramatists who have had actual experience of the environment which they have so successfully pourtrayed [sic], and who have handled their subject with humour, discretion, and restraint … Readers should on no account miss this brilliant play, with its topical interest, satirical humour, strong emotional scenes, and delightful comedy passages. The company … has been personally rehearsed by Mr. Otho Stuart, the celebrated producer, and the entire production, furniture, and accessories from Court and Strand Theatres, London, are carried’. Cheltenham Chronicle, 14 October 1916. ‘One left the Theatre on Monday with of the greatness of the power of the stage when it is not frittering itself away upon things unworthy. [In] “Kultur at Home” … Rudolf Besier and Sybil Spottiswoode have dealt with a problem of the utmost importance to the British race - the psychology of its great enemy Most the [German] people in the play are quite excellent folk from their national point view, and the motif of the play is the clash of these ideals with the wife’s English notions. This clash leads to situations that the audience follow with an interest tense that for the most part it seems to forget those manifestations of approval or dislike which are ordinarily the outcome of plays which merely interest in an objective way, and to feel themselves a part of the material of the play. We, who have somewhat outgrown the concepts which not so long ago made the Britisher a very ridiculous fool, have not sufficiently realised what this play teaches us: that the Germans, once a quiet homely folk, have become a race of which every member has been taught, by ages of skilful drilling in the lesson, to thank God (“who is a German, too”) that he (the German) is a German. This national trait has found its highest manifestation in the Army, for which apparently the state exists, rather than the army for the state, just as from the German point of view the woman merely exists for the benefit of the man - always, of course, that Germany, that is the Army, may be great and glorious and tread under its rough-shod heels its enemies, who are everybody who does not appreciate its God-given mission of glorifying the German Army … The dominance of the military caste and the blind acquiescence of the German woman in the god-like superiority of her male folk, because they represent the army - that is Germany, and German ideals triumphant in the world – whereas they are in our eyes behaving like coarse, low cads gratifying their own vulgar selfishness, is a pathetic feature'. Gloucestershire Echo, 17 October 1916. '“Kultur at Home” is a decidedly successful attempt to enlighten the Briton on the outlook of the Teuton at home - and nations as well as individuals must be seen at home to be known … The piece is the more educational in that although the characters are strongly drawn and the bias of the authors is not hidden, yet in the main the balance is not very unfairly weighed against the Teuton. Our own feelings may cause us to sympathise wholeheartedly with the heroine, but if we saw the work from the German point of view we should probably sympathise with the hero, whom the authors have not selected from the worst of his class or from the comic-paper sausage-sauerkraut spectacles and swipes type. On the contrary, he is drawn as an excellent young fellow, who stands for his Teutonic ideals in a way that makes us sorry rather than angry with him, for some of us know how the swollen-headed of our own race are … by the time the curtain goes down the final scene - a truly magnificent thrill in which the audience are no longer spectators, but by virtue of nationality seem to be taking part in the acting - there must be very few who have not learnt something more for what Britain and her Colonies and her Allies are standing than ever they knew before … The difficulty is that until the Teuton has learnt his lesson he, like the rest of us, will continue to regard [his] ugly ideals as his real god. Our Tommies are probably proving the best possible missionaries to him!’. Cheltenham Chronicle, 21 October 1916.
23 Oct 1916 The Man Who Stayed At Home Professional
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The Era, 18 and 25 October 1916, listed The Man Who Stayed at Home (Blue) as On The Road from 23 October at the O.H., Cheltenham. ‘“The Man Who Stayed at Home,” the very attractive German spy play being performed by E. Taylor Platt’s Company at the Cheltenham Theatre and Opera House this week, was written at the time when everybody was wondering why everybody else did not “join up,” and impertinent flappers were presenting young fellows with white feathers in the superb conviction the flapper has of her own importance and the omniscient wisdom of her silliness. The man who stayed home in this case was one who had business for the Empire which made his presence much more important at home than anywhere else and the work he was doing is the subject matter of as gripping a play as need be seen. For who does not love a spy or a detective story? – and this is both the one and the other, with elements of thrilling drama, pleasant humour, and much good national character study thrown in' (Cheltenham Chronicle, 28 October 1916).
20 Nov 1916 The Enemy In Our Midst Professional
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‘The play of the present week at the Cheltenham Theatre and Opera House is The Enemy in Our Midst, by C. [sic – G.] Carlton Wallace, author of The Village Blacksmith, whose company is responsible for the presentation, the author himself appearing as Basil Stanhope, the hero. As the title indicates, The Enemy in Our Midst is a spy story, and it is much of the type of The Man who Stayed at Home. The plot, arising out of events in the early days of the war, is worked out in four acts of strong drama with many thrilling situations, including, in the finale, the destruction of a Zeppelin by a British aeroplane. This feat is well managed, those responsible for the scheme having hit on a simple, method which appeals to the imagination without straining the credulity too far. The latter quality is of more importance in Cheltenham than in many towns, for a more sceptical house it would be hard to find than that which usually patronises the Theatre. Try it with loud sounding appeals that would in many places bring a response that would raise the roof, it is more than likely it will raise a titter instead. Thus the heroine in this piece declares, when her husband returns from the war, that a woman’s Paradise is in the arms of the husband she loves - an excellent sentiment, but a trifle overcharged. So instead of the virtuous cheers such a sentiment might be expected to arouse, we hear a loudly whispered What ho! from a little group in khaki not far behind the orchestra stalls! The dramatic special providences that drop the right people into the right place at the right moment are also great fun for the Cheltenham audience, which can never take these things seriously. Fortunately, although cast in the mould of the older drama, The Enemy in Our Midst has a story in which we have so much reason to be interested, and which is so excellently played, that it can afford for one two of its guns, which might do great execution elsewhere, to miss their fire. Even if they do, it is a play to thrill ... The house was highly appreciative’ (Gloucestershire Echo, 21 November 1916).
20 Apr 1917 The Sleeping Beauty Unknown
18 Jun 1917 The Enemy In Our Midst Professional
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‘During tine fourth week of their season at the Cheltenham Theatre Mr. G. Carlton Wallace’s Company are playing his thrilling drama The Enemy in Our Midst, with the author in the part of Basil Stanhope, the hero. Spy tales, even in peace times, make good reading and acting; but for his The Enemy in Our Midst Mr. Wallace has used dramatic material molten hot in such a manner that it loses none of its heat in the making of his story. The play was acted here some months ago, and must have made a good impression, for there was a splendid house on Monday. Recent circumstances have tended to increase rather than diminish interest in such pieces, for if the German spy fever has cooled down, the air-raids have intensified the appeal of The Enemy in Our Midst, the plot of which deals with the doings of German spies scheming a big Zeppelin raid. The scene of the destruction of the Zeppelin by a British aeroplane is a clever piece of stagecraft that enthuses the audience tremendously (Gloucestershire Echo, 19 June 1917). ‘Mr. G. Carlton Wallace, as well as being a strong actor, knows how to write plays that will draw popular audiences in crowds ... The Enemy in our Midst was first seen here last year and has been received again with enthusiasm. It is quite up-to-date, for it deals with German spies and includes a well managed destruction of a Zeppelin by a British aeroplane. The whole piece is powerful melodrama and the company puts all it knows into it (Cheltenham Looker-On, 23 June 1917).
25 Jun 1917 The Amazing Marriage Professional
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Carlton Wallace's company was engaged for a month at the theatre, and this was extended a further two weeks in which they would perform 'East Lynne' as well as 'The Amazing Marriage'. (Gloucestershire Echo, 23 June 1917)
20 Aug 1917 His Last Leave Professional
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Reviewed at Length in the Gloucestershire Echo, 21 August 1917: ‘It is a military story, combining elements of deep pathos and cunning intrigue with a fine series of thrilling dramatic incidents. Such scenes as those of the trenches in France, the night attack, a life for a pal, the wrong identification disk, and the interior of the Red Cross clearing station have a very special appeal in times like these’. The cast included Edward Furneau, Nina Gerrard, Arthur Pringle, Frank Fealty, H. E. Hughes, J. Sutton Pateman, L. Wilkins, Amy Manfree, T. J. Lane and Mona Grey. Also: ‘Mr. Edward Furneau’s Company at the Theatre has had another very successful week to reward their principle of strong plays at popular prices. This week’s play is an up-to-date military one, entitled His Last Leave and, in addition to a vivid plot, is crowded with exciting War incidents. The acting of the many characters is more than adequate; in several instances it is particularly strong, and the necessary humorous relief is exceedingly good. The play is full of thrills, and raises the large audiences to heights of applause for the good characters and extreme execration for the wicked ones’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 25 August 1917). Also: ‘The Edward Furneau Company at Cheltenham Theatre have again “struck ile" [sic], this time with “His Last Leave,” a stirring military drama fully up to date with events in the present war. These events are of the order that really “grip,” and there is not a dull moment, in the play, for all leads naturally to the denouement, and even the customary light comedy is not dragged in by the neck, but has a legitimate place the story. If we are to have melodrama at all, let us have it like this, for well-played melodrama is to the keen stage appetite what roast beef and plum pudding are to the well-constituted British gastric system in its expectant state' (Cheltenham Chronicle, 25 August 1917).
3 Sep 1917 The Man Who Stayed At Home Professional
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The Stage, 30 August and 6 September 1917, listed The Man Who Stayed at Home (Red Co.) as On Tour from 3 September at the O.H., Cheltenham. Also The Era, 29 August 1917. Previewed in the Gloucestershire Echo and the Cheltenham Chronicle, 1 September 1917, which listed the actors: Clifford Marle, T. Arthur Ellis, J. Edward Pearce, E King, Hilda Francks, Christine Cooper, Frances Waring, Ethel Coleridge, Edith Cuthbert, Jean Stanley, and Malcolm Cumming, a Cheltonian, who will be remembered as chief assistant librarian’. ‘“The Man Who Stayed at Home” commenced on Monday evening a week’s run at the Cheltenham Theatre … The play named above was as good a choice as could have been made for the starting of what we suppose must be termed the autumn season, for it made a great impression when here in October last year, and the subject with which it deals will not be stale for many a day to come' (Gloucestershire Echo, 4 September 1917). 'The play which has been presented [at the Theatre] since Monday last is The Man Who Stayed at Home ... It is one those plays which, written to meet a popular topical demand - the German spy question in this case - has turned out to be so full of good stuff that they continue to please after the demand has died down. The Man Who Stayed at Home is a capital combination of comedy, drama, character-drawing and general observation and is strongly acted' (Cheltenham Looker-On, 8 September 1917.
3 Dec 1917 Searchlights Professional
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‘At the Theatre [and Opera House] next week Mr Robert Brasher presents Mr. H- B. Irving’s great London success Searchlights, by Horace Annesley Vachell, the popular author of Quinneys. Searchlights is described as a delightful Comedy Domestic Drama of human interest. It is a war play, but not one of the kind which make people cringe and wish they had not come to the Theatre. It gives an insight into the lives of two households, one of a keen business man who has foreseen the war and been prepared, and the other of a sweet-natured naturalized German whose country is Scotland, the land of his ancestors, though as he says himself he had the misfortune to be born in Bavaria, who has foreseen nothing' (Cheltenham Looker-On, 1 December 1917). ‘At the Cheltenham Theatre this week “Searchlights,” by Horace Annesley Vachell, is being produced by a strong company. Like the same composer’s delightful “Quinney’s” it is a very human play, but the comedy element is not quite so much to the forefront and there is a very strong human interest, the plot being based on circumstances connected with the war’ (Gloucestershire Echo, 3 December 1917). ‘“Searchlights,” by Horace Annesley Vachell, is being presented at the Cheltenham Theatre this week by a company, toured by Mr. Robert Brasher, who will not lessen the good impression the piece left when played there in May, 1915, by another company' (Gloucestershire Echo, 4 December 1917). ‘Though the action of the play covers the period immediately preceding the war and also the early days of the German invasion of Belgium and France, Searchlights (by Horace Annesley Vachell) is not primarily a war play but a domestic comedy drama. It concerns the fate of two lovers, Harry Blain and Phoebe Schmaltz, the first the reputed son of a hard-fisted commercial Englishman who had the prescience to anticipate the war and to make his preparations accordingly, the second the daughter of a naturalised German who disregarded all Blain’s warnings and put every halfpenny of his capital into Teuton undertakings, with the result that he lost all when the crash came ... A strong play powerfully acted by Mr. Robert Brasher’s Company ... The front play is by Geoffrey Wilkinson, and in it a German spy gets his deserts’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 8 December 1917).
14 Jan 1918 Peace Time Prophecies or Stories Gone Wrong Professional
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'For the most part the so-called “revues” doing the provinces from time to time have no more relationship to the real thing which the which the French gave its name than they have to grand opera. “Bubbly” presented by the Ralph Haslam company this week at Cheltenham Theatre, by arrangement with André Charlot, is a complete exception. Not only in type is it the real thing, but in personnel and mounting gives an idea of the type at its best ... the third “bubble” [is] entitled “The Eternal Triangle, 5000 B.C.,” played by Cedric Percival, Doris Barrington, and Edmund Russell. In spite of the title it is a future time, when “Gothas” have driven us back to an underground or troglodyte life, that is imagined ... “Bubble V.” is delicious comedy based on the idea of the return to civilian life of “Old Bill,” of Bairnsfather picture fame, and a lively old major, who both got lifelike personation by Edmund Russell. The various other characters are touched off with real humour ... Another reflection in the first “bubble” of part II. is “The end of a perfect day,’ as seen by the lady flag seller, war allotment holder, extravagant munition worker, and the private soldier ' (Gloucestershire Echo, 15 January 1918). Also reviewed in the Cheltenham Chronicle, 19 January 1918.
4 Mar 1918 When Our Lads Come Marching Home Professional
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Performers: Sheila Walsh (writer), Courtney Robinson (actor) Review: "The piece has very popular elements, and the many good fellows in khaki in the audience rocked with laughter" The Gloucestershire Echo
9 Mar 1918 When Our Lads Come Marching Home Professional
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Performers: Sheila Walsh (writer), Roy Selfridge (actor), Lilian Maitland (actress), Ernest Leslie (actor), Courtney Robinson (actor), Edgar C. Milton (actor), Arthur Edwards (actor), Frank Irish (actor)
24 Jun 1918 On Leave For His Wedding Professional
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‘The success which attended the repertory season introduced into last summer’s engagements at the Theatre and Opera House has prompted Messrs. Redford Bros, to enter into an arrangement with Mr. Edward F. Furneau to bring his Company to Cheltenham for a six weeks’ stay during the present summer ... The company open their present engagement on Monday night next, the 24th inst., in that strong military drama, On Leave for His Wedding, by Clifford Rean, author of His Last Leave. A feature of the performance will be the reproduction of an actual scene from the front, when the Germans bombarded a British hospital, though the audience will be spared the worst horrors of the disgraceful act, as the incident depicts a marvellous instance of the impotence of the enemy guns. Mr. Furneau is to himself appear in the character of the hero of the piece, Captain Derrick Tressilian, a part for which he is so eminently suited, and Miss Nina Gerrard and Miss Stella Cedron will impersonate the sisters Mavis and Angela Hope respectively There are four acts in the play, with eight scenes, and the interest, well sustained throughout, rises to high altitudes in some of these' (Cheltenham Looker-On, 22 June 1918). ‘[Edward Furneau’s] company received a cordial welcome back on Monday evening, when they started their [six weeks] engagement with Clifford Rean’s “On Leave for his Wedding." The cast included three of the actors who were most popular with the house last summer, including Mr. Furneau himself, who was very happy and at home in the hero part of Capt. Derrick Tressilian. He is always excellent in his personation of fresh, manly young men, especially young men in khaki. Mr. J. Sutton Pateman, who is thoroughly alive in his low comedy part, is another of the old favourites, as is Miss Nina Gerrard, who in this piece is playing Mavis Hope, the heroine, very sweetly. The company seem to have a villain of the right type in Mr. Edwd. Marden [sic - Warden?], whose personation of the military scoundrel, Capt. Geo. Delpre, is entirely manly in its wicked way. Mr. J. P. Lallaun [sic – Lallen?], in his Rev. Noel Wheeler, reminds us, perhaps intentionally, of the fact that in these days the priesthood have sometimes not the tone of the aristocracy, but he strangles the villainess most beautifully. Mr. Arthur C. Crossly is a fine bluff soldier as Sergeant Barney Croft; Miss Stella Cedron manages the grand manner of evil-doing very effectively; and Miss L. Snape, as Peggy Dimple, is a winsome and wide awake little comedienne. As for the play, it is “a little bit of all right” for those who like a good strong mixture of love, adventure, heroism, and villainy, with a military setting. The author has not been able sufficiently to forget his own “His Last Leave” to be very original but we don’t know that it matters much. The scenes in the trenches in France and during the German bombardment of the cathedral are capitally managed, and are really tremendous thrills’ (Gloucestershire Echo, 25 June 1918). ‘The repertory summer season opened at the Theatre and Opera House on Monday evening with Clifford Rean’s military play, On Leave for His Wedding, which was presented by Mr. Edward F. Furneau and his Company ... The [play] meets the popular taste. It deals with the treachery of Angela Hope, who, in order to gain the hand and fortune of Captain Derrick Tressilian, her sister’s lover, induces two accomplices to swear to the forged name of Mavis Hope, on a marriage certificate, and even goes the length of locking Tressilian, blinded while in action, in the Cathedral in which she had just been married to him, in order that he might be buried in the ruins which the German artillery has already begun to bring about his head. But, of course, Tressilian escapes the doom designed for him, and, his sight restored by his terrible sufferings in the sacred fane [sic], he searches out his malignant wife, and denounces her in the presence of her dupes, one of whom (the parson who had assisted her to a bigamous marriage) forthwith proceeds to rid the world of a creature unfit to live in it. Suspicion of the murder falls upon Tressilian, but the Rev. Noel Wheeler owns up to the deed and Derrick and Mavis are re-united after the terrible retribution had fallen on her sister. A subsidiary love story running through the piece affords the comedy relief, which is considerably augmented by the happenings to a tramp named Reuben Egg, who has a habit turning up at unexpected moments whenever things look worst for the hero. The character of the popular Captain Derrick Tressilian is well hit off by Mr. Furneau; Miss Nina Gerard sympathetically and sweetly interprets the part of Mavis Hope; the contrasted sister Angela is powerfully portrayed by Miss Stella Cedron; the villain Captain George Delpre is effectively represented by Mr. Edward Warden; Mr. J. P. Lallan [sic – Lallen?] is the tame parson who, when he comes to his senses (or is it an access of madness?) strangles the woman who had played him as well as everybody else false; Mr. Arthur C. Crossey and Miss L. Snape provide fun in the respective characters of Sergt. Barney Croft and Peggy Dimple; Mr. J. Sutton Pateman is Reuben Egg, Mr. H. Wheeler is Inspector Lomax, and Mr. Fred Butcher personates Private Bing. The “scenes at the front” are realistically depicted’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 29 June 1918). ‘This is the second week of the Repertory season arranged by Messrs. Redford Bros, with Mr. Edward Furneau’s Company, and we refer to the fact here in order to put on record the great success achieved by the Company in the opening week, when the thrilling military drama, On Leave for his Wedding, was staged. The play was received with remarkable demonstrations of approval by a capacity house on Saturday night - hundreds, in fact, were unable to obtain admission - and at the close of the performance Mr. Furneau was called before the curtain and made a short speech, in which he thanked the Cheltenham public for the splendid support they were giving to his Company and to himself, and to the excellent local management. He also mentioned, amid further applause, that before the end of the six weeks’ engagement with Messrs. Redford he would again present On Leave for his Wedding, so as to give an opportunity to the many who had been turned away that night of seeing the play under equally favourable circumstances’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 6 July 1918; see the Theatre and Opera House, Cheltenham, 2-3 August 1918, below).
2 Aug 1918 On Leave For His Wedding Professional
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‘The Furneau Company, which has attained so much popularity with local playgoers, will enter upon the last week of their [six week] season at the Theatre and Opera House on Monday next, when they are to present another success, It’s a Long Way Tipperary (by Mr. Lodge Percy) … For the two last days of the week and a Saturday matinee, Mr. Furneau is putting on, by request, On Leave for his Wedding, which had such a brilliant run in the earlier days of the Company’s successful season’. Cheltenham Looker-On, 27 July 1918.
19 Aug 1918 The Man Who Stayed At Home Professional
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‘The Taylor Platt company … in The Man Who Stayed at Home’ was advertised for the following week at the Theatre and Opera House in the Cheltenham Looker-On, 17 August 1918 which also previewed the production. ‘When a play upon a third visit attracts and thoroughly grips so large a house as that which welcomed back the Taylor Platt company in “The Man Who Stayed at Home,” on Monday evening, it may be taken to be a thing of some qualities above the average … of all the many war plays that have yet been “presented” this, we think, is decidedly the best, combining as it does most piquant dramatic elements that are free from the “bluggy” melodramatic type of sensation, a clever spy story, and a genial strain of humour that is not dragged in as “relief,” but is part of the plot itself. The present cast, although several new names appear, show no falling off from the high quality of the play of the two prior visits. As it is a play in which the characters are mostly people of good society, “tone” is a quality that counts much, and in this respect there is not a jarring note' (Gloucestershire Echo, 20 August 1918). ‘There is a certain section of the playgoing public which steadfastly and consistently adopts the axiom that the alpha and omega of stage-plays is to amuse. The more conscientious theatre patron, however, has catholic tastes and recognises that the drama need not be confined to spasmodic revues and sprightly musical comedies, tickling as they are to the ear, and pleasant to the eye, but can also in due measure elevate and educate, without possessing any quality of dullness. The play of the week at the Theatre, The Man who Stayed at Home, is of the last-named description, for it is of a kind to open the eyes and intelligences of the general public, in a direct way that newspaper reading can never achieve, to what are some of the most dangerous features of the “alien peril” in our midst; and what is perhaps of even more enlightening account, gives a suggestive insight into the dangerous duties that fall to the lot of the consummately clever, but professionally obscure, members of the British Secret Service (Cheltenham Looker-On, 24 August 1918). ‘There are things one thanks providence he has not the chance of judging how they bear a second seeing. Not so “The Man Who Stayed at Home,” for one can confess to having sat it out a third time with as much pleasure as the first, for if the element of dramatic surprise was gone, one was under the circumstances more inclined to give attention to the quality of the characterisations and to the humour. The authors of the book (Lechmere Worrall and J. E. Harry Turner (sic – Terry)) make us realise what dramatic possibilities may be hidden in a company of seemingly commonplace people at a boarding-house in times that are spacious enough to give scope to their latent potentialities; and they have done so in a manner so far removed from the coarsely melodramatic; in fact, with such pretty and refined humour as well as dramatic power that on the whole “The Man Who Stayed at Home” can be ranked as the best war play we have had at the local Opera House' (Cheltenham Chronicle, 24 August 1918).
13 Jan 1919 Seven Days Leave Professional
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Presented by Walter Howard.
17 Feb 1919 By Pigeon Post Professional
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Herbert Greville (director), Aubrey Mallalieu (actor), Reginald Turner (actor), Herbert Vyvyan (actor), Dorothy Edwards (actress)
17 Mar 1919 The Title Professional
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‘Satire when staged needs to be in capable and practised hands, these conditions being fulfilled in Messrs. Vedrenne and Eadie’s Company, a delightful representation is given at the Theatre this week of Arnold Bennett’s three act domestic comedy, The Title. The play is a long-drawn-out protest against the traffic or supposed traffic in “honours .” It must be confessed, however, that the parties who make the protest have not only chosen the wrong occasion - for if anyone deserves recognition for his services to the nation it surely is the Mr. Culver of the play - but they are also somewhat eccentric in the lengths to which they are prepared to go to show not merely their contempt but their abomination of all such trifles. In fact, the only really sensible member of this curious family is Mrs. Culver, who, her vanity notwithstanding, we are all pleased to find gains her end at last, and with it the coveted title to be called “My Lady.” The author has put a lot of smart things in the mouths of the people whom Mrs. Culver has to fight, and doubtless they are all true. But our sympathy is with the little woman, who comes up smiling after every knockdown (metaphoric) blow administered by her matter of fact spouse, her intellectual daughter, and her democratic son ... The Title is preceded by a one-act comedy by Roland Pertwee, entitled Postal Orders, which is a skit on the manner in which impatient customers are supposed to be served at the Post Office counter by the lady members of the staff' ( Cheltenham Looker-On, 22 March 1919). An article on the Cheltenham Opera House remarked, ‘there is a distinct charm in a small and snug Theatre [such as the Opera House], particularly for the performance of such plays as Arnold Bennett’s The Title, when every gesture and inflection of voice and tiny mannerism must be observed in detail to get the full flavour of the wit and satire with which such a play abounds’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 30 August 1919).
28 Apr 1919 Nurse Benson Professional
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‘Presented at the Cheltenham Theatre this week, “Nurse Benson,” by R. C. Carton and Justin Huntly McCarthy, is a four-act comedy, wittily conceived, skilfully constructed, and admirably acted by the Taylor Platt company. The play simply ripples with fun. The authors have given us a remarkable piece of work in the sense that it thoroughly reflects the moment. It has the war as background, and during the war even so genial a satire as Lord Messiger, the testy nobleman who devotes himself to the propaganda for Food Economy, would have been out of taste. But the agony is over, and we can afford to look back on these types of war enthusiast and smile ... In parts the action has a touch of the farcical, but the atmosphere of the play is pure comedy, and the dialogue has the true comedy quality. We can hardly speak too highly of the cast' (Gloucestershire Echo, 29 April 1919). 'Nurse Benson is charming - that is to say the lady who masquerades as the real Nurse Benson. The story which R. C. Carton and Justin Huntly McCarthy have so cleverly woven round a name is one of sweet feminine duplicity. The situations which result are extremely funny, the dialogue is smart and witty, and the Taylor Platt Company who present the piece at the Opera House this week, is first-class in every respect. The comedy has a war atmosphere; it must surely have been written to cheer one in the dark days. And it does that still, for the whole play means a continued laugh from start to finish' (Cheltenham Looker-On, 3 May 1919).
2 Jun 1919 Peace Time Prophecies or Stories Gone Wrong Professional
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‘… the entertainment has not changed in any material point whatever since it went on tour. Times may have changed, and the light falls from a fresh angle upon such very glistening bubbles as those of the “Peace time prophecies, or stories going wrong.” We were looking forward when “Bubbly” was here last [14-19 January 1918], whereas we are now looking forward. But whichever way we may be looking, old Major Blount, who introduces trench life, “flea-bag” and all, into his drawing room to make the place endurable, and “Old Bill,” who has to hide from fame and failing to find rest is left wreaking his vengeance upon his maker, the famous Bairnsfather, are figures that strike the imagination and stir the risible faculties to tonic laughter. On is surprised in looking at the programme to find that Mr. Edmund Russell is responsible for both these enjoyable personalities, so individual and distinct are they’ (Gloucestershire Echo, 3 June 1919). ‘“Bubbly” is presented [at the Theatre, Cheltenham] here by Ralph Haslam and company. The principals include Ernest Seebold, Edmund Russell, R. Barrett-Lennard, W. Ashley Sinclair, Florence Mayfield [sic – Bayfield], Edith Payne, Kathleen Martyn, and Doris Devigne’ (The Stage, 5 June 1919). ‘A delightful medley, Bubbly, the return visit of which was enthusiastically welcomed to Cheltenham on Monday is as bright and entertaining as ever, and Mr. Ralph Haslam’s original company improves on further acquaintance. In fact the pleasure they give in the bewildering and fascinating variety of scenes, dances and costumes in which they appear to such picturesque effect easily accounts for the success of Bubbly. The different skits are all admirably presented. Nothing could be better for instance than the “Old Bill” of Mr. Edmund Russell, or his Major Blount in the “Comforts of Home” ...’ (Cheltenham Looker-On, 7 June 1919). ‘“Bubbly,” by far the cleverest and best revue that, we have seen in Cheltenham, is paying a second visit the local theatre this week. It comes practically unchanged, and has captivated the house each night just as completely as upon the previous visit’ (Cheltenham Chronicle, 7 June 1919).
31 Jul 1919 On Leave For His Wedding Professional
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Furneau’s company was at Cheltenham for four weeks from 7 July to 2 August 1919. ‘Next week [at the Opera House] is the last week of the present season, and a domestic play, The Wife’s Confession, will be presented, changing on Thursday and Friday only for On Leave for his Wedding, to be given by special request’. Cheltenham Looker-On, 26 July 1919.
18 Aug 1919 The Luck Of The Navy Professional
6 Oct 1919 The Freedom of the Seas Professional
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Organised by Thos. C. Dagnall and presented by Robert Brasher. Performed for the week by Robert Brasher (actor), C.B. Keston (actor), Charlton Hutchinson (actor), T. Arthur Ellis (actor), Olivia Glynn (actress)
3 Nov 1919 The Amorist Professional
22 Jan 1920 By Pigeon Post Professional
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Performed by the Arthur Hardy company with Alfred Gray, Charles Poulton, Helen Green, Goodie Willis, and Haviland Burke.
26 Jan 1920 Seven Days Leave Professional
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Performed for the week with matinee Saturday at 2.30.
26 Jan 1920 By Pigeon Post Professional
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Performed on 22, 23 and 24 January 1920 by Arthur Hardy (producer), Alfred Gray (actor), Charles Poulton (actor), Helen Green (actress), Goodie Willis (actress), C. Haviland Burke (actor). 'Exploiting ground not so much over-cropped as some of that out of which so many of our spy stories have grown, the play is a good one of its kind and the acting is competent.' (Gloucestershire Echo, 23 January 1920)
19 Apr 1920 General Post Professional
3 May 1920 The Luck Of The Navy Professional
25 Aug 1920 On Leave For His Wedding Professional
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The Gloucestershire Echo, 18 August 1920, advertised at the Theatre and Opera House, Cheltenham, for the following week: on Monday and Tuesday, The Link That Binds; on ‘Wednesday – Benefit, Edward Furneau: “On Leave For His Wedding”’; on Thursday, It’s Not The Clothes That Make The Man; and on Friday and Saturday, The Luck Of The Game. The Stage, 26 August 1920, noted that this marked the end of Edward Furneau’s company’s long summer engagement. The Gloucestershire Echo, 26 August 1920, reported that ‘Owing to the great success of “On Leave For His Wedding” on Wednesday night, many being unable to obtain admission to the theatre, the popular play (by special request) will be repeated Friday night’.
15 Jul 1921 On Leave For His Wedding Professional
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The Gloucestershire Echo, Monday 11 July 1921, advertised at the Theatre and Opera House, Cheltenham, that week Edward F Furneau and his popular company in A Girl Worth Loving with, on Friday night (by request), On Leave For His Wedding.