SEASON 18 (1946-47)
Diary of a Scoundrel
Children in Uniform
Much Ado about Nothing
The Seagull
The Playboy of the Western World
Final Dividend
September 1946
DIARY OF A SCOUNDREL
by Rodney Ackland
Directed by Alfred Emmet & Graham Heywood.
Designed by Graham Heywood
The season opened with the world premiere of a new play by an established playwright, Rodney Ackland (the first commercial production of the play was at The Arts Theatre in October 1949).
The play was published two years later under the title TOO CLEVER BY HALF and it featured under that title in Jonathan Miller's 1988 season at the Old Vic. We also performed the play under that title in 1992 - but nobody except Alfred Emmet seemed to make the connection at the time!
This was the second Ostrovsky play we had produced after in 1943. It was also the second Rodney Ackland play that we premiered, after THE DARK RIVER in 1943.
Our association with Ackland continued with productions of several of his plays over the years including another world premier, THE OTHER PALACE, in 1964.
The production received quite a lot of publicity in The Times, The Observer and other national papers with a long account of the post performance discussion in News Review (unfortunately I haven't been able to track down a copy of that).
And as another reminder of life under rationing, Alfred wrote about this time:
"The Refreshment Department unfortunately got caught short of dried milk when it was recently put on points and I am asked to appeal to any members who have an odd point or two to spare, from unwanted B.U's or otherwise, to spare us a tin of dried milk.
[Does anyone know what B.U. stands for?]
Programme, reviews and photos for IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR
November 1946
CHILDREN IN UNIFORM
by Christa Winsloe, translated & adapted by Barbara Burnham
Directed by Eric Voce
Designed by Norman Branson
The programme note regrets that "diligent search failed to produce any details" about the author - but they didn't have Wikipedia then, did they!
Christa Winsloe (1888 – 1944), formerly Baroness Christa Hatvany de Hatvan, was a German-Hungarian novelist, playwright and sculptor, best known for her play GESTERN UND HEUTE (known under several titles, including CHILDREN IN UNIFORM), filmed in 1931 as MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM and remade in 1958.
There can be no doubt about the lesbian undercurrent to this play though I expect that aspect may have been played down in our production. Nonetheless I would like to think this was probably our first tiptoe into the arena of "gay" drama.
December 1946
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Mary Ballinger
Designed by Ernest L Ives
No background information available on this production other than to note the costumes were on loan from "our old friend Mr Cyril Nairne."
Also there is the puzzling statement in the flier that this was the first full length Shakespeare production since 1940. That seems to ignore the all-female AS YOU LIKE IT of 1942 - and the fact that there was no Shakespeare at all in 1940.
They were obviously in need of a good archivist!
February 1947
THE SEAGULL
by Anton Chekhov, translated by Constance Garnett
Directed by Alfred Emmet
Designed by Norman Branson
This proved to be a notable and widely praised production despite Alfred Emmet's concerns about the unavoidably short rehearsal period.
The press reviews were all very positive with particular interest being shown in the "lively intimacy" of the apron stage and the quality of Norman Branson's design (selected by competition).
A number of reviewers put the production on a par with the West End, and one reviewer (I've been unable to identify the source) took the view that the Questors fulfilled Bernard Shaw's trust in the amateur as the hope of the future and that the company was "made of the stuff to give encouragement to the modern Jeremiah of the theatre."
This production also coincided with The Questors' hosting of a Little Theatre Guild conference and was the subject of interesting discussion with the delegates.
April 1947
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
by J M Synge
Directed by Peter Curtis
Designed by Beryl Anthony
This was a last minute replacement for a show that had to be postponed because of casting difficulties. Alfred and Kit repeated the parts of Christie Mahon and Pegeen Mike they had played in the previous 1941 production, but the remainder of the cast and the production team were new.
June 1947
FINAL DIVIDEND
by Michael Kelly
Directed by Eric Voce
This was the third of five full length plays by Michael Kelly and numerous short pieces of his to be premiered at The Questors.
Michael, who died in 2003, was a formative figure in our history and played a key role in the development of The Questors' reputation for encouraging and performing new work. He wrote extensively for radio, and many of his plays were rewritten as radio scripts for the BBC.
The Questors never lost sight of its commitment to experiment, not just with stage form but with design, technical aspects, lights, sound and styles of production, and Michael was very much a part of this movement.
Alfred Emmet was so concerned about the number of "unprecedented difficulties" that cropped up during the rehearsal period for thie production, that at one point he thought it would be "little short of a miracle that we are able to get the show on at all." (rehearsal photo opposite).
Afterwards he reflected: "The run of FINAL DIVIDEND met with moderately good houses improving somewhat towards the end, but artistically, I don't think anyone has any illusions that the casting and production difficulties did not prove rather too much. It was particularly regrettable that this should have occurred over Mike's new play. We did at least have a lively and interesting discussion."