Victorianists and theatre historians in London next week are very welcome to join us for performances of two 1-act First World War plays: The Pacifist by John Brandon (1918) and Conscientious Objector or Coward?: The Story of Arthur Waterman (2013).
“From a young female doctor's suspicions that her fiancée is a spy, to the unpatriotic musings of a seemingly respectable government official amidst the Zeppelin bombings on London, to the real-life experiences of a conscientious objector in war-time Hertfordshire, these are the playing out of the fears on the Home Front that our ancestors experienced.”
The Brandon play, first seen at the Brixton Empress in 1918, has obvious antecedents in late-Victorian melodrama - though up-dated to take account of the war-time situation.
The plays, performed by a professional cast, take place in central London at the Swedenborg Institute in Bloomsbury on Wednesday 17 July at 7:15 pm (Nearest tube: Holborn/Tottenham Court Road).
Admission is free and refreshments will be served. More details can be found at the Hertfordshire University website or please do contact me if you’d like to know more.