E. TEMPLE THURSTON’S THE COST

When E. Temple Thurston’s (1870-1933) play The Cost opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on October 13, 1914, it was his third play that year to be staged at a major London theatre. The advertising slogan labelled it “A Play of the Moment” but apparently The Cost was not what audiences wanted to experience as theatrical entertainment. Although categorized as a comedy, the situations in the script may have been too close to audiences’ everyday lives.

Act One of this four act play is set in the country home of an upper middle-class English family named Woodhouse. It is the day Britain is on the brink of World War One awaiting Germany’s reply to her ultimatum (August 4, 1914). The dining room is set for breakfast and most of the family has gathered around the table awaiting one tardy son. The meal will not be served by the servants until morning prayers are read by Mr. Samuel Woodhouse, the head of the household and father to six adult children--three males and three females. The family’s breakfast table discussion reveals the chauvinism, selfishness, prejudices and other negative as well as naive characteristics of these individuals. The only character who appears to understand the reality of war is the eldest son, John, who is married and becoming known as an authority in Moral Philosophy--ethics.

All the members of the audience had recently lived through this day and some of the conversations in the play undoubtedly resonated with them since they quite likely had similar thoughts and discussions. 

 

Act Two is the same setting one month later—early September.  It is ten o’clock in the morning. Some of the realities of a nation at war are beginning to effect the Woodhouse family members. Their income is decreasing rapidly and the servants need to be dismissed. The family is required to billet soldiers in their home. Percy, the youngest son, does not want to enlist as a soldier, but he is serving as a military recruiter. The family is closely recording the battle locations on a map that is hanging over the mantelpiece.

The audiences have also just lived through the first month of war. They are very aware of this war as a dominating factor in their everyday lives.  Many have grappled with whether they should enlist in the armed services, just as John does. The review in the Sunday Times on October 18^th states: “it (the play) is so painfully near reality that it adds to our anguish.”

Act Three is set in the kitchen of the Woodhouse home.  It is five days later and the time is two o’clock in the afternoon. The major crisis at the moment is that John’s wife, Judith, is in a bedroom upstairs giving birth to their first child. Mr. Woodhouse is trying to do a few kitchen chores, but he is totally inept. It is reported that the German army is sixteen miles from Paris. Lionel, the family’s middle son, is home from an institution where he had been housed prior to the war. The British government constantly needed more men to join the armed services since this was the period prior to the conscription acts. John is seriously considering becoming a soldier, if all is well with his wife and baby. The war situation and the characters reactions to it continue to reflect the initial period of this conflict.

The audiences are actually aligned with the characters in starting to understand the sacrifices that need to be made on the home-front as well as how to assist in the war effort. This act with its moment of joy due to the arrival of a healthy baby, also represents the need for the present generation to strive to provide a future for the next generation.

Act Four is set in the sitting room of John Woodhouse’s modest London flat. It is April, 1915 at 4:30 PM. The assembled family members are awaiting John’s return from the front where he was wounded but recovering. Percy, who John coerced, joined the military and is also on sick leave in London. When John arrives the family is excited to see him and he appears uninjured, however, he has paid a major price for his service. His head wound has impaired his ability to concentrate and he will not be capable of writing future contributions in the field of Moral Philosophy.

The final speech in the play is delivered by John. He cites several points about the role war plays in civilization. Two of the more significant ideas: 1. “War is strife, and strife is the striving of men’s souls, and without that striving we should all wither into nothingness.” 2. “As long as there is fearlessness in the souls of a man, there will always be war - always.”

I believe Thurston is addressing the new statement that was circulating in Great Britain after the start of World War One: “The war that will end war.” This statement was initially made by H.G. Wells (1866-1946) in August, 1914.   Wells quickly wrote essays regarding the war that were individually published in London newspapers prior to being collected into a book in early October, 1914. The book was published in London by Frank & Cecil Palmer under the title The War That Will End War.  This popular publication was reprinted two more times during the same month.  While Wells was clear in what he meant by this phrase, Thurston was possibly reacting to the broadest interpretation of its meaning.

Act Four is the only act of the play that is set in the future. It does not dwell on gory details of the battlefield or the home front problems, but it does have the sense of loss without the loss of life. This is the only segment of the play that audience members had not actually experienced, but it begins to prepare them for the major life changes that war can inflict.

The Cost closed after twenty performances on October 30, 1914 despite starring Owen Nares (1888-1943) as John Woodhouse.  I have not found any evidence that the play was ever revived at a later date. The script was published in London by Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1914. This edition of the play is dedicated to Miriam Clements. There was an English actress by this name, but I have not found any additional information about her or why this play may have been dedicated to her.

While The Cost was not a major stage success in its time, I found it most enlightening as a study of the British citizenry’s thoughts, problems, actions and reactions during the initial months of the war. It is a thought-provoking work and seemingly honest in its assessments. 

NOTE:

E. Temple Thurston was a renowned novelist and playwright during his lifetime.  He wrote approximately forty novels and more than fourteen plays. His biggest success on stage written in 1921 was titled The Wandering Jew. It was inspired by the French novel of the same name written in 1844 by Eugene Sue.

Photo of  E. Temple Thurston from Quazoo.com

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.