J. M. BARRIE’S SEVEN WOMEN

 

On September 4, 1913 J.M. Barrie’s three act play titled The Adored One opened in London at the Duke of York’s Theatre with Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1865-1940) playing the leading role. Act One received excellent reviews calling this act “delicious,” “exquisite” or “delightful.”  Unfortunately, the remaining two acts did not delight either audiences or reviewers.

Barrie quickly revised the script and The Adored One continued playing in London before opening on Broadway at the Empire Theatre in January 1914 under the title The Legend of Leonora. The popular American actress, Maude Adams (1872-1953) starred in this production and it played for 136 performances. After the production closed in New York, Maude Adams toured The Legend of Leonora to many cities throughout the United States.  Her tour played until the middle of 1916.

On April 7,1917, a revised first act of The Adored One appeared on stage at the New Theatre in London as a one-act play titled Seven Women. This play shared the bill of one-acts with Barrie’s The Old Woman Shows Her Medals and A.A. Milne’s Wurzel-Flummery.  Irene Vanbrugh (1872-1949) played the role of Leonora. This program was popular with audiences and it played for eight weeks.

Seven Women is set in a drawing-room in Chelsea that is decorated in the Adams style. This is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tovey who have invited Captain Rattray to dinner so he can meet Leonora. The play is set in 1913. Captain Rattray, a hero who earned his reputation chasing   unauthorized submarines near British waters, arrives at eight o’clock which is a half hour early. Mr. Tovey, who twenty years earlier went to school with the Captain, tells him about the other dinner guests by describing seven different personality traits. Rattray believes there will be seven different women for him to meet. Another guest named Leonora arrives early and is left alone with Rattray while Tovey leaves the scene to dress for dinner.  As the scene progresses, Rattray tries to decide which one of the seven traits represents Leonora.  Eventually he realizes that she is seven women in one—no sense of humor, too much sense of humor, politician who wants males to treat her as an equal, old-fashioned clinging kind as well as obedient, motherly type, murderess and coquette.  He is beguiled by Leonora and delighted to learn she is a widow.

You may be wondering why I selected to write this post about Seven Women since the comic plot sounds like the beginning of a love story. When Barrie reworked this piece as a one-act play, he included details that clearly illustrated aspects of London life in 1913. These specific moments illustrate how the British government and its citizenry were gearing themselves for the possibility of a war. The male lead, Captain Rattray of the Royal Navy, is a celebrity due to his naval achievements against foreign submarines. Prior to the start of World War One, the British were extremely concerned about German submarines blocking access to their ports as well as endangering ships in and near their waters.

When Leonora tells Rattray about her fifteen-year old son, she states that he is away at school and “He is in the O.T.C.” This would have been a junior division unit of the Officers’ Training Corp at the secondary school level.  Universities had O.T.C. senior division training. Obviously, Leonora is proud that her son is involved in this activity and it indicates that Britain was introducing adolescent males to military discipline.

Barrie is very specific about the setting for this play since it clearly establishes the period before World War One. He specifies that the décor of the drawing-room is “in the Adams style.” While this style originated in the eighteenth century and was replaced after 1795 by the Regency style, the Adams style with its light and elegant furniture style and specific color choices for walls as well as furniture went through a revival in the late nineteenth century. It became an extremely popular style with the expanding middle class prior to World War One. The Adams style lost its popularity in Britain by the end of World War One.

Leonora is a woman who is not dependent on having a male in her life. She is capable, intelligent, persuasive, and charming. She is a prime example of how women could prove themselves to be productive individuals during difficult times. This play is also a delightful, nostalgic reminder for audiences about their lives just prior to the war.

After Seven Women closed at the New Theatre, it opened in July,1917 at London’s Coliseum Theatre which was the city’s largest theatre with 2,359 seats. There were several other short plays that shared the same bill. Seven Women was a success and several actresses play Leonora during the run which was still playing during the fall season of 1918. Lillah McCarthy (1875-1960) played Leonora prior to Diana Wilson (1897-1937) who took over the role in August,1918. These actresses had a heavy schedule since the Coliseum offered three matinee performances a week in addition to the evening performances.

In Great Britain, Seven Women has a long stage history and it was popular through the late 1950’s. It gained additional fans when it was produced several times by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio. There was a March 7,1941 radio presentation. BBC aired a new radio production on June 5, 1948. Leonora was played by Scottish born actress Madeline Christie (1904-1996). A third production mounted for BBC radio aired on September 21, 2005. It featured Benedict Cumberbatch (1976-    ) as Mr. Tovey.

This delightful one-act play is still charming and amusing. I read the 1928 Acting Edition of Seven Women published by Hodder and Stoughton, London. I was unable to access copies of The Adored One, which I understand Barrie never allowed it to be published, and The Legend of Leonora. I am curious about the revisions as well as how The Legend of Leonora differed from The Adored One.

A.A. MILNE’S THE BOY COMES HOME

Prior to Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956) becoming the noted author of two Winnie–the-Pooh books (1926-1928) he was a soldier in Britain’s Royal Warwick Regiment during World War One. Writing plays was his distraction from the business of war and it was in 1916-17 that he wrote his third play titled The Boy Comes Home.  It is a comedy in one act and his first related to World War One. Obviously written before the actual end of the war, Milne envisioned the dilemma many young soldiers could face when they returned home following their service. The older males, who stayed at home, had been raised according to strict Victorian values. The problem was these older men believed they ruled the household and everyone within it as well as the returning young men. 

Philip, a soldier, returned from his service in Europe to his Uncle’s home. Uncle James is the executor of Philip’s father’s trust. Philip will inherit the trust when he is twenty-five years old. The play begins “the day after the War.” It is quickly obvious that Philip, now twenty-three years of age, and his Uncle James are locked in the conflict between the experiences of post-war youths and the behavioral expectations of the Victorian generation.  

The playwright did not separate the play into designated scenes, since he wanted the action to flow continuously. However, The Boy Comes Home has three distinct segments.  During the first segment of the play, Philip asks to have his breakfast served.  Since it is ten o'clock, he is informed that Uncle James established that breakfast is only served at eight o'clock. Philip handles this situation with diplomacy and authority proving he is no longer the boy that left home four years ago. The first segment ends as Uncle James is reading the newspaper while he waits for Phillip to finish breakfast. 

The second segment commences as Uncle James dozes and envisions his conversation with Philip about the young man’s future. This pivotal segment of the play is Uncle James's dream. It demonstrates how Philip proves to his uncle that he is an adult with experiences of leadership and bravery gained during the battle on the Somme.

The beginning of the third segment repeats the first moments of the previous scene. Uncle James is dozing when Philip enters the morning-room. Uncle James handles the conversation in a manner different from his previous approach.  The topic is Philip’s future, but the dream serves to guide Uncle James’s tactics and thoughts. This final segment of the play illustrates that there can be a meeting of the minds when the situation is adeptly handled. This story does not sound like a comedy, but it is skillfully constructed to play humorously upon Uncle James’s and Philip’s varying views of life.

The action of this play is continuous and the three segments strike me as movements in a musical composition.  They are not separate scenes, but each one illustrates a different view of the same theme. However, each segment is dependent on the one that proceeded it and builds on that action with clarity, humor and thought.   

The Boy Comes Home was produced by Owen Nares (1888-1943), an actor, at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre during September, 1918. This theatre presented mainly a variety of acts and short plays.  It was a good venue for Nares to present The Boy Comes Home. Nares was a popular matinée idol and the role of Philip was perfect for him so he was assured an audience for this timely, entertaining play.

The play eventually moved to the Palace Theatre where it was incorporated into an entertainment titled Hallo, America!  In April of 1919, The Boy Comes Home opened at the London Coliseum, it was one of London’s largest family variety theatres.  The role of Philip was played by another young, established actor named Godfrey Tearle (1884-1953). The role was significant enough for two young, but established actors to enjoy the challenge and delight of playing Philip.

The Boy Comes Home was first published September, 1919 by Chatto and Windus of London. The book is titled First Plays and it contains the first five plays written by Milne plus his introduction to the volume.  This publication was very successful and it had six editions, the final one being released in April, 1924. Another volume that contains this play was published in 1934 under the title of Fifty One-Act Plays. It contains a wide variety of plays from many countries.

The Boy Comes Home quickly became popular throughout Great Britain where it was performed by dramatic societies, university players and also presented as readings.  There are brief newspaper articles starting in 1920 either announcing or commenting on performances.  These stories continue throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.  I was surprised to find a performance presented in 1946.

On April 12, 1928, The Boy Comes Home was broadcast on the radio.   The Times of London announced Milne’s play was going to be transmitted from Nottingham at 8:30 PM.  The Boy Comes Home was also popular across the United States, Canada and Australia throughout the 1920s and 30s. It was ideal for community theatres, readings and play competitions. 

This one act play has a special quality of delight coupled with a serious issue.  It is a problem that every former soldier encounters, in one way or another, as he/she leaves military service and re-enters civilian life. The Boy Comes Home is an enjoyable read and the script is available on-line.