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ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN (1841-1901) |
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ALONE IN LONDON AFTER THE OLYMPIC - 2
The Scotsman (6 March, 1894 - p. 5) “ALONE IN LONDON” AT THE THEATRE ROYAL. MELODRAMA of the most sensational description occupies the boards of the Theatre Royal this week. “Alone in London” is now a familiar play. It has gone the rounds for six or seven years, and has had a very successful run for works of its kind. Mr Robert Buchanan, as the dramatist, and Miss Harriet Jay have produced a very effective piece, brimful of exciting and thrilling scenes. The plot is, however, most improbable, and realism is only secured by great exaggeration. The story is the familiar one of an innocent girl lured from her virtuous home by the traditional villain, and cast off in London to pursue her career as a flower-seller. The seamy side of life in the great Metropolis is painted in dark colours. Human nature, however, is hardly ever so black as this play makes it, and the authors have evidently sacrificed probability to realistic effect. The vices and virtues of certain classes are very strongly depicted, but the picture is much overdrawn. The lights and shades of the play are not at all balanced, and when one has to see vice triumphant, and howls of execration greeting its triumph till the close of the piece, with only one gleam of joy and brightness in a sad life, it cannot be said to be a pleasant piece, even though Mr Buchanan seeks in it to point a moral. Messrs Miller and Elliston’s company gave a very capable representation of the drama last night. The villain of the piece, Richard Redcliff, who has decoyed the innocent heroine to London and left her to struggle in the slums, was admirably personated by Mr Harrington Reynolds. If he erred at all, it was in interpreting too freely the brutal aspect of the character, his almost fiendish cruelty seeming at times to bring the gallery in practical touch with the stage. His partners in crime had capital representatives in Mr Frank Withers and Mr Percy Bell. Miss Ada Hollingsworth gave a good representation of the poor waif, Tom Chickweed, and the part of the little boy Paul was most naturally sustained by Master French. As the sorely-tried wife, Annie Meadows, Miss Nellie Fletcher was thoroughly sympathetic; Miss Rose Pelham rendered the little which was given to her, as Ruth Clifton, in a most pleasing manner; and Mrs Maloney, the good-natured Irishwoman, found an excellent exponent in Miss Lizzie Howe. As a pair of strolling players, Miss Beatrice Goodchild and Mr Henry Eglinton provided most of the amusement which served to brighten the play; and the part of the large-hearted, honest, and manly miller, John Biddlecombe, had, physically and dramatically, a most suitable representative in Mr W. H. Brougham. The mounting of the play was most effective. There was a crowded attendance in the cheaper parts of the house, and in these quarters the play was warmly appreciated. ___
The Isle of Man Times and General Advertiser (11 June, 1895 - p.2) “Alone in London.” It may be roughly asserted that melodrama as it used to be understood became the vogue when Dion Boucicault was in his heyday of success, and “After Dark,” his “Emerald Isle” plays, and the “Corsican Brothers” were the talk of the town. But then the other playhouses were producing comedies not entirely unworthy of Sheridan—tragedies which might be ranked with the minor efforts of those who wrote for lucre in the Elizabethan period. To-day, to paraphrase Sir William Vernon Harcourt’s “We are all Socialist now,” all money-making playwrights, those who regard the things which “thieves can break in and steal,” adopt for their theatrical oriflamme the motto “We are all writers of melodrama now.” When Queen Victoria was young, “London Assurance” was produced. The Haymarket was known to the dandies (the forbears of our latter-day “chappies”) as the “Home of Comedy,” and later the Bancrofts, at what was called the “Dust Hole,” in the Tottenham Court Road, allowed audiences to witness the delicate art of Tom Robertson as displayed in “Caste,” and “School,” and “Ours,” and by so doing transmogrified an architectural eyesore into the best paying property in London. This present decade has seen plays labelled “comedies,” “dramas,” “dramatic comedies,” and various other weird titles. In fact the ingenuity of the authors of ’80-’90 seems to have been devoted to titles which advertised, instead of to their character delineation or to the brightening of their dialogue; but whatever cognomen their efforts assumed, they were merely melodrama masquerading. Whether it is “John o’Dreams,” “The Second Mrs Tanqueray,” “The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith,” or the “Ideal Husband”—in fact, whether the production has been concocted by Jones, by Pinero, by Haddon Chambers, the success has been secured by a clever manipulation of the artifices of the melodramatic writer. “Alone in London,” by Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay, both well known in “Inky Lane,” disdains adventitious aid. It is melodrama pure and simple; it has been, and deservedly so, the greatest draw of the big provincial centres, and probably, if reproduced in London, where melodramatic excellence since Harry Pettit’s death has dwindled to the vanishing point, would command attention. The success of “Alone in London” has been due to multitudinous causes. In the first place, and more particularly in its present staging at the Grand, the scenery in mise-en scene and ensemble has been most accurately and artistically rendered. The great British public love “mechanical changes,” and they desire an alteration of venue. In “Alone in London” their appetites are fed in both directions. Scribe, the great French author, was wont to say that the financially successful play was one that was not too old and not too new. “Alone in London” is neither the one nor the other. It tells a simple, direct story with most admirable adroitness, full of human nature, replete with strong situations, and crowned with stirring curtains. Moreover, it was enacted in the proper spirit. A caste containing over twenty characters is difficult to deal with in a short notice. But Mr Lonnen Meadows’ impersonation of “Charlie Johnson” was one of the most artistic characterizations that it is possible to conceive. Mr Percy Bell, Mr Harry Percival, Miss Madge Douglas, Miss Geraldine, and the entire company deserve the highest praise. “Alone in London” should draw good houses to the Grand during the week, because it is scenically splendidly put on, well acted, and tells a story with power and pathos, and a story which is so human that it should possess a charm for all and sundry. ___
The Guardian (11 July, 1895 - p.9) QUEEN’S THEATRE ALONE IN LONDON. It may be a little galling to Mr. Robert Buchanan to know that while a rough and ready melodrama of this kind can obtain a record of 5,000 performances, most of his comedies and adaptations have practically passed into the limbo of forgetfulness. But, after all, “Alone in London” is good in its way. It is interesting, and has the saving grace that it is not diffuse at any point. The customary prolixity of melodramatic dialogue is absent. Certain heroic flights are indulged in, of course, but it may be said generally that there is no unnecessary “piling on” of the agony. It is a sordid story in the main, but we get a breath of fresh air at times. It is not entirely of the slums, although the greater portion of the incidents take place in or about London. The interest centres in the plotting of Richard Redcliffe and his thieving associates, the woes of Annie Meadows, and the chivalrous devotion of John Biddlecombe. The very violence of the light and shade enhances the effectiveness of the various situations, and many were the sympathetic exclamations and the unrepressed objurgations which came from an excited audience when an additional twist was given to the rack or a more than usually ingenious bit of villany was proposed. Messrs. Miller and Elliston’s company, which has for some considerable time past been charged with the representation of the play, is fully equal to all demands. Miss Madge Douglas-Barron is a sympathetic heroine. Messrs. George Young and Percy Bell as the villain in chief and his humorous confederate realise exactly what is expected of them, and Mr. H. Percival is duly vigorous and emphatic as the honest countryman. The low-life humours of Mr. Lonnen Meadows and Miss Grace Geraldine as a “humble professional” and a street hawker were hugely relished. |
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[Advert from The Era (24 October, 1886 - Issue 3031)]
The Liverpool Courier (12 January, 1897) ALONE IN LONDON AT THE GRAND THEATRE. The celebrated melodrama, entitled Alone in London the outcome of the literary collaboration of Mr Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay was submitted to the judgment of a capital audience at the Grand Theatre last evening. Although the piece cannot claim the attractiveness of novelty having been one of the most frequently produced dramas of recent years, it has evidently lost little of its great popularity of former days judging from the keen interest with which the story was followed from start to finish last evening. The serious interest of the piece is relieved by the introduction of many genuinely humorous episodes, and the whole play betrays dramatic workmanship of a high order. It is splendidly staged at the Grand Theatre, and is played by a company which does full justice to the most exacting scenes. Miss Dorothy Percy graceful and handsome as the heiress, Ruth Clifton, adds high histrionic ability to her other attractions, and Mr Ashton Ashbee exhibits undeniable ability in his impersonation of the villain. A pair of itinerant mountebanks are cleverly portrayed by Miss Laura Leycester and Mr C. A. Russell and other notable roles are entrusted to the competent hands of Mr Charles Grayson, Mr Fredk. Wright, sen. and Mr Fred Wilberforce. ___
The Scotsman (20 April, 1897 - p.6) “Alone in London,” the drama by Mr Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay, was the holiday attraction at the Grand Theatre last evening. The play has been touring for eleven years, and still holds the play-going public. Miss Edith Blanche took the part of Nan the Flower Girl. There was a large audience. ___
The Guardian (10 August, 1897 - p.5) QUEEN’S THEATRE ALONE IN LONDON. The vitality of some of the old melodramas is remarkable. Some there are of which the public seem never to tire. It is so with the “Lights o’ London,” which occupied this theatre last week, and we have another example of long life in the play “Alone in London,” which was given to the world a good many years ago by Mr. Robert Buchanan and another. “Alone in London” has been played again and again in Manchester, yet some playgoers are not tired of it, as the reception accorded to it last night plainly showed. Miss Edith Blanche, as Nan, the flower girl, easily won and secured the sympathies of the audience; and the part of her “disreputable husband” was effectively sustained by Mr. Magill Martyn. Indeed, the characters generally—and there are a great many—were in capable hands. In the comic passages of the piece Mr. Lonnen Meadows, “a humble professional,” was highly amusing. ___
The Stage (16 June, 1898 - p.10) Alone in London, Robert Buchanan and Harriett Jay’s drama, will begin its twelfth year of tour next Monday, at the Royal, Hanley, with Mr. Elliston’s No. 1 Co., under the direction of Mr. Warwick Major. This year the piece comes to nearly all the suburban theatres, the London rights of the play having recently been purchased by Mr. Elliston. |
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[Advert for J. F. Elliston’s touring production of Alone in London from The Stage (30 June, 1898-p.18)]
The Era (9 July, 1898 - Issue 3120) BRIXTON THEATRE. This powerful attraction is in its twelfth year of tour and still pleases the frequenters of the popular parts of the house. Mr J. F. Elliston’s No. 1 company has been well chosen. The story of poor Annie Meadows’s sufferings in London arouses keen sympathy in the hearts of the patrons of this theatre. In the rôle of Annie Meadows Miss Lily C. Bandmann has a great deal to do. This clever young lady displays distinct ability, and is fully equal to the demands of the character, proving herself an emotional leading actress of more than ordinary capacity. Mr William Maclaren endows John Biddlecomb with individuality, supplying a very creditable performance. Richard Redcliffe is cleverly portrayed by Mr William Clayton. Miss Ethel M. Ward merits unstinted praise for her representation of Tom Chickweed, and is vociferously applauded. Mr Percy Bell, the original Jenkinson, acquits himself most satisfactorily. Mr Melville Bickford does well in his interpretation of Spriggins. The Radcliffes; little son Paul is intelligently impersonated by little Phyllis Graham. A particularly excellent impersonation of Mr Burnaby is given by Mr Henry Crocker, who is also to be complimented upon his capital make-up. Mr George Phythian doubles the parts of the Under-keeper and David, a potboy. Mr W. Burrows Nugent as Walter Burnaby and Miss Marie Robson as Ruth Clifton play well. The comedy element is well sustained by Mr Edward Marris and Miss Beatrice Goodchild as Charlie Johnson and Liz Jenkinson. A capable exponent of Mrs Maloney is Miss Maggie Cardiff. A noteworthy feature of this production is the new scenery, specially painted by that talented artist Mr W. Tritschler. Play and players have been given hearty receptions. ___
Aberdeen Weekly Journal (23 August, 1898 - Issue 13596) HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE. “ALONE IN LONDON.” Whether or not it be that in the portrayal of slum life Mr Robert Buchanan, aided by Miss Harriet Jay, reveals those touches that make the whole world kin, one thing is certain—the drama that these famous collaborators produced twelve years ago under the title of “Alone in London” is more popular by far to-day than when first produced. Criticism of its merits need go no further. The piece is one of the finest of its kind, and we have never yet seen it played to thin or unappreciative houses. Last night, when it was put on the local boards by Mr J. F. Elliston’s No. 1 Company, the theatre was crowded from pit to gallery, and in the more stirring scenes the large audience was moved to extraordinary and unwonted enthusiasm. On the whole, the acting was capable and intelligent. Mr W. Maclaren had, in John Biddlecomb, a most sympathetic part, and his acting was robust and careful, his elocution faultless, and his stage presence of the best; while as the heroine, Annie Meadows, Miss Lily C. Bandmann won golden opinions. Mr W. Clayton was the “villain,” Richard Redcliffe, every inch—and more; the impersonation would not suffer by being somewhat toned down. Miss Ethel M. Ward did some good work as Gipsy Tom; and the comic element was in the capable hands of Mr E. Marris, as Charlie Johnston. Mr Percy Bell, as Jenkinson, and Miss Millie Steele, as Liz Jenkinson, were all that could be wished. The piece is most elaborately staged, and the production is on the finest scale. The music played between the acts is particularly enjoyable. ___
The Era (3 June, 1899 - Issue 3167) GRAND THEATRE, FULHAM. The hearts of many lovers of melodrama in the neighbourhood of Fulham have been gladdened this week by a dose of strong undiluted sensationalism served up by Mr J. F. Elliston’s No. 1 company from the prescription of doctors R. Buchanan and Harriet Jay, and labelled Alone in London. If we wished to be hypercritical we might wonder when Annie Meadows is really alone in London, as she seems to be always surrounded either by good friends or villainous associates, but such fare as this must be taken as we find it. The best proof of popularity is in its endurance, and as Alone in London has toured the provinces for twelve years (vide programme), no better proof of its popularity “on the road” need be adduced. Mr Wm. Maclaren is a fine manly exponent of the devoted countryman John Biddlecomb, a Suffolk miller, whose love for the girl of his heart never falters, despite her rejection of his suit in favour of a scoundrel, and who turns up in time to rescue her from an awful death in the old sluice house, Rotherhithe. Miss Lily C. Bandmann acts with power and pathos as the ill-fated and all too-trusting and foolish heroine, who in this case is actually married to her destroyer. Mr William Clayton is a fine, athletic, well-spoken (in his softer moments) villain, and acts with all the necessary unscrupulous brutality and uncompromising assumption of villainy. Mr W. Burrowes Nugent makes a droll figure of the masherish swindler, Spriggs; Mr T. H. Solly enacts the part of the thievish philosopher, Jenkins, with great ability; and other character studies are supplied by Miss Beatrice Goodchild as Liz Jenkinson, the rough diamond of the “doss house:” Mr Lonnen Meadows as Charley Johnson, the honest and humble professional; and Miss Maggie Cardiff as the garrulous and good-hearted Irishwoman and orange-seller. Miss Lilyan Lait looks pretty in the small part of Ruth Clifton; Miss Ethel M. Ward is excellent as the wait, Tom Chickweed, whose devotion to Annie Meadows practically saves her life at the risk of his own; Mr T. Renaud as Mr Burnaby, the rich banker and apparently irresponsible philanthropist; Mr A. Willerby as his son, Walter; and others do good service. The scenery is tasteful and appropriate, and the piece evokes hearty plaudits from the admirers of this class of work. ___
The Era (23 September, 1899 - Issue 3183) IN the cast of Alone in London, to be revived at the Princess’s on Saturday next, Messrs Frank Cooper and Fred Emney will appear, and also Misses Kate Rorke and Marie Linden. Alone in London was first produced at the Olympic Theatre, Nov. 2d, 1885, when Miss Harriett Jay, one of the authors, played Tom Chickweed. This was before Miss Jay called herself Charles Marlowe, for the play was billed as by Robert Buchanan and Harriett Jay. The play was revived eight years ago at the Princess’s—that is, on Dec. 21st, 1891—when Mr Henry Neville played the hero, originally created by Mr Leonard Boyne, Miss Ellaline Terriss was the Tom Chickweed, and Mr W. L. Abingdon the villain, Redcliffe. In addition to those named above, in the present revival will also appear Messrs Lawrence D’Orsay, J. B. Gordon, and William Clayton, Miss Minnie Sadler, and Miss Ethel M. Ward as Tom Chickweed. ___
The Penny Illustrated Paper (30 September, 1899) The Princess’s Theatre reopens on Saturday night with the stirring drama “Alone in London,” by Miss Harriet Jay and Mr. Robert Buchanan, which was originally produced at the Olympic Theatre fourteen years ago, and was revived at the Princess’s eight years ago. It is an excellent drama of its kind, and can hardly fail to prove attractive. It was heartily appreciated when first produced, and I learn that the scenery and cast will be worthy the reputation the Princess’s management has won. ___
Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper (1 October, 1899 - p.13) LAST NIGHT’S THEATRICALS. PRINCESS’S. The possibilities of Alone in London, a drama by Mr. Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay, do not seem to be exhausted, for Mr. Robert Arthur revived it last night at the Princess’s, where, by the way, it was played eight years ago, with Mr. Henry Neville as the bluff and honest John Biddlecomb, most injured and forgiving of men, and Miss Elmore as the flower girl Nan. Miss Ella—now Ellaline—Terriss was also in that revival as the boy Chickweed. The drama was originally produced at the Olympic in 1885, when such success as it obtained was done to its elaborate scenic effects—particularly to a telescopic arrangement by which the villain appears to open a Thames sluice gate to drown his wife, who is lying helpless in a cellar. Mr. Leonard Boyne was the original Biddlecomb, and poor Amy Roselle was the girl Nan. The drama smacks of the days when the real cab and the realistic lamp post was popular. We want something more nowadays than scenic realism—we look for a good story, and here the revival is disappointing, for the object of the authors in those days was served when they had provided a few familiar street scenes such as we here have in a fine view of Westminster-bridge lighted by real lamps, a fine effect by Mr. W. T. Hemsley, and Trafalgar-square. The story, it will be remembered, concerns a ruffianly thief who marries a simple country girl, and drags her down to the dregs of London life. It is told in a spasmodic way, but it tells with a popular audience, who liberally hissed and applauded the evil and virtuous sentiments. An excellent cast has been secured. Mr. Frank Cooper is the breezy John Biddlecomb, and a good one; while no more sympathetic exponent of the sorrows of poor Nan could be desired than Miss Lillah McCarthy. The boy Chickweed is the conventional waif in the hands of Miss Ethel M. Ward, and Mr. Fred Emney gives unction to the rascality of Jenkinson. Mr. Lawrence D'Orsay as the swell mobsman Spriggins, Mr. Sidney Howard as the negro minstrel of the gutter, and Miss Laura Linden, as his partner Liz Jenkinson, contributed largely to the comic relief. The good-hearted Irish basket woman, Mrs. Maloney, finds a genial representative in Miss Kathleen O’Connor. A miscellaneous crowd of nondescripts are well represented. The reception of the drama was so favourable as to suggest that there may be a revival of interest in this class of piece. ___
Daily News (2 October, 1899) THE THEATRES. MELODRAMATIC REVIVAL AT THE “Alone in London,” by Mr. Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay, is a melodrama of a decidedly sensational character; but this is a class of pieces for which there is always a brisk, though no doubt a limited demand, and it seems more than probable that its revival on Saturday evening at the Princess’s Theatre—a house which under its present management has gained a renown for plays in this category—will be attended with success. It is now hard upon fourteen years since sympathetic playgoers were at once harrowed and delighted at the Olympic Theatre with the spectacle of Miss Amy Roselle, as the heroine, bound to a post in the old Sluice House at Rotherhithe by her villanous husband Richard Redcliffe, and there left to be drowned by the rising tide. The piece was revived at the Princess’s in December, 1891, with almost an entirely different cast. It is now played by a company which, if we mistake not, includes no single member of either of the two former casts; but which is certainly not an inefficient one. The story is mostly concerned with the persecutions of the unhappy lady already referred to at the hands of the scoundrel whom, in an evil hour, she has preferred to an honest admirer in the person of John Biddlecombe, a worthy Suffolk miller. As we have said on a former occasion, it would be long to tell of the trials and sorrows of this unfortunate lady and her little child, to enumerate the scenes of life, both high and low—but chiefly low—with which her vicissitudes of fortune associate her; or to convey a notion of the number of times she is befriended and aided by the poor ragged lad, Gipsy Tom, until the latter stabs to the heart the execrable scoundrel Redcliffe, while he is in the act of committing a burglary, and thus wipes off an old personal score, saves an innocent wife and child, and frees the persecuted heroine, just in time to consign her to the faithful arms of her old admirer. The authors, whose play first saw the light of day in the United States, have missed no opportunity of accumulating exciting incident upon exciting incident, and altogether the piece is a very effective one of its kind. Miss Lilian McCarthy won on Saturday evening abundant sympathy for the unfortunate heroine; Mr Frank Cooper’s Biddlecombe was none the worse for being a trifle less blunt in tone and manner than previous representatives of that worthy person; and Mr. William Clayton endowed the scoundrel Redcliffe with a certain measure of plausibility. The part of the street boy Chickweed, originally played with much force and truth by Miss Jay, is now cleverly sustained by Miss Ethel M. Ward, and other parts of more or less prominence fall to Mr. Leonard D’Orsay, Mr. Frank Emney, Mr. Sydney Howard, and Miss Laura Linden. The various scenes and episodes of London life are set forth with the old elaborateness of detail, and the revival is provided with picturesque scenery. ___
Daily Mail (3 October, 1899 - p.6) “ALONE IN LONDON.” It is too late in the day to attempt detailed criticism of “Alone in London,” written by Mr. Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay. ___
The Morning Post (3 October, 1899 - p.2) PRINCESS’S THEATRE. “ALONE IN LONDON.” “Alone in London,” a drama written by Mr. Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay, and originally produced at the Olympic Theatre some fourteen years ago, was revived at the Princess’s Theatre on Saturday night with the following cast: Characters in the Prologue. John Biddlecomb (A Wealthy Characters in the Drama. Mr. Burnaby (A Rich Banker) . . . . . . . . . Mr. J. B. GORDON. This is not the first time that “Alone in London” has been revived, and the success of its run in 1891, at the Princess’s, has no doubt induced the management of that theatre to place once more on the boards a play that, judged as a work of dramatic art or literature, might well have been left to oblivion. It is sensational melodrama of purely conventional type. Improbabilities and coincidences bristle, and even the most casual observer can find in it no true picture of contemporary life. But the humours and, above all, the miseries of low society are dwelt on and graphically portrayed by authors well acquainted with the taste of pit and gallery, that tolerates and even gloats over horrors and anguish as long as in the end hero and heroine are made happy. In the prologue the heroine is wooed by two men; she chooses the wrong one, and the remaining four Acts catalogue her sufferings at the hands of an unmitigated scoundrel, who ends by tying her to a post inside an old sluice-house by the riverside at Rotherhithe and opening the floodgates, so that, like the toiler of the sea, she may be drowned by the rising waters. The wretched woman is, however, by no means “alone” in London, as the title of the play implies; she has good friends in a rich banker and his daughter, who give her a temporary home, and in a kind-hearted tramp and his still more kind-hearted wife, in a delightful Irishwoman from County Cork, and in Gipsy Tom, a waif and stray, who stabs the inhuman husband, and, when the crisis is reached, fetches the rescuer, and finally in the rescuer himself, who is no other than the right man rejected in the Prologue, and who arrives in London from the Antipodes in time to swim through the seething waves and liberate his Andromeda. To these dramatis personæ, which remind one of George Cruikshank’s twopenny coloured Character Heads, must be added that of the innkeeper in the prologue, afterwards “Thief and Philosopher, better known as Benevolent Jenkins,” the begging-letter parson—a part, or rather parts, rendered with exceeding humour and so much ability by Mr. Fred Emney that the actor’s art, singularly enough, went far to defeat the author’s aim, for so adroitly, so Hyde and Jekyl-ly are the two Jenkinsons differentiated that no one would believe the imposition possible except at the hands of a professional play actor. But this is not the only character effectively rendered at the Princess’s Theatre. Mr. Frank Cooper showed that restraint and natural unexaggerated fidelity to living models can produce the most telling effect even in a melodramatic hero, and one could not help thinking, as one listened to his well-assumed dialect, how admirably he would personate the unsophisticated hero of “Lorna Doone” if ever that charming story reappears in dramatic form. Mr. William Clayton was forcible and not over-coloured as the villain, and earned the approving hisses of the gallery. Miss Laura Linden made a great hit as Liz, the daughter of the innkeeper and wife of the tramp. Miss Ethel M. Ward was pathetic though a trifle monotonous as the waif and stray, and Miss Lillah McCarthy was graceful and refined, but at times rather stagy, as the heroine. The scenery was excellent and the changes in view of the audience startling by reason of their rapidity and mechanical precision. The approbation of the spectators was unbounded. ___
The Graphic (7 October, 1899 - Issue 1558) The Theatres BY W. MOY THOMAS “ALONE IN LONDON” THE development of the public appetite for melodrama is a fact in the dramatic phenomena of these times which causes, I am aware, many worthy persons and well-wishers to the stage some uneasiness; and if it were accompanied by a corresponding decline in the demand for plays of a higher class I confess that there would be some ground for this feeling. But the truth is that, although we have three London theatres of the highest rank, including the historical DRURY LANE, which devote themselves to melodramas, there never was a period when a really brilliant comedy, or even a really brilliant poetical play, would have been so certain to bring its author substantial rewards. As to DRURY LANE, it has forsaken the higher drama for the obvious reason that the vast size of its stage, as Hazlitt complained, is unsuited to the exhibition of the finer qualities of acting, and, indeed, fit for nothing but broad effects and spectacular displays. And why not? it may be asked. There is evidently a large section of the public who enjoy plays of this harmless, if not very intellectual, kind, and there is no reason to suppose that the interests of the higher drama would be served by denying them a lawful pleasure. From this point of view there seems no reason to despair of the Drama because the management of the PRINCESS’S Theatre have chosen to revive Alone in London, by Mr. Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriett Jay, which was brought out at the OLYMPIC Theatre fourteen years ago, and has since been revived in London and played in the country far and wide. It is, it is true, a melodrama of a rather pronounced type. Columns would hardly suffice to tell of all the reasons that the unhappy heroine, Mrs. Redcliffe, has to repent the hour when she rejected the suit of honest John Biddlecombe, the Suffolk miller, and linked her destinies with those of the diabolical Richard Redcliffe, whose villainies reach their climax in the great scene of terror and suspense in which he is seen to tie his wife to the post by the sluice gates at Rotherhithe and leave her there to be drowned by the rising tide. But all these attractions might fail but for the plentiful supply of those scenes and incidents of humble life in London which is here provided. The revival undoubtedly gave pleasure to the PRINCESS’S audience on Saturday evening. It is, on the whole, well acted. Miss Lilah McCarthy, in the place of Miss Kate Rorke, who had to relinquish the part through illness, won much sympathy as the heroine. Mr. Frank Cooper played Biddlecombe with fine manly directness, and Mr. William Clayton, as the villainous Redcliffe, was careful to avoid the temptations of the part to exaggeration. When it is added that Miss Harriett Jay has a clever successor in Miss Ethel Ward as the good-hearted street urchin, Chickweed, and that Mr. Emney, Mr. Sydney Howard, and Miss Laura Louden made the most of that important ingredient, the “comic relief,” enough has been said to justify the prediction that the revival of Alone in London will enjoy a fair measure of success. ___
The Guardian (29 May, 1900 - p.8) THE THEATRES “ALONE IN LONDON” AT THE THEATRE ROYAL. Mr. Robert Buchanan had already made his mark not only in dramatic but in other fields of literary effort, so that his personal and immediate share in the authorship of this play must originally have come as a surprise to everybody. And yet the piece is not only good of its kind, but it has now for fourteen years been accounted almost a classic in this curious domain of melodrama. That it should have achieved this distinction is at once praise and dispraise. In order to have done so, it cannot have departed far from the beaten track; to have thus followed the lead of smaller men—mere mechanics, nailers-up of situations and sensations—is not a matter on which the author can plume himself. As melodramas go, “Alone in London” is effective enough. It is just about as true to life as the turbulent canvas billows which illustrate the sluice gates in the fourth act are to nature. But its main success lies not only in the directness of its purely melodramatic effects—the betrayed village maiden, her love for her child, her dog-like devotion to her villainous husband, his brutality and final attempt to murder her,—but in some interesting odds and ends of character. The lad Tom Chickweed—a character originally played by Mr. Buchanan’s collaborator, Miss Harriet Jay—is a case in point. He is a good-hearted waif, with many a human trait which goes straight at the heart of a general audience. The philosophic thief Jenkinson is unquestionably own cousin to our friend Elijah Coombe of “The Silver King,” and there is enough unction about the scoundrel to make him distinctly amusing after a fashion. A straightforward countryman and a garrulous Irish woman are among these episodical sketches, and if none of them are “creations,” they are at least entertaining figures. The purely mechanical sensation is wofully disappointing, there is not a thrill in it, elaborately as it is engineered. But some of the scenic effects are very good indeed, one of the best being a picture of the Houses of Parliament during a sitting of the House, as seen from the Surrey side of Westminster Bridge. By an ingenious arrangement of gas lamps, diminishing in size, a fine effect of perspective is obtained. The company engaged in the representation of the play is quite equal to any demands the authors make upon it. Miss Vera Beringer, as the sorely tried heroine, is duly emotional without becoming extravagant in either voice or gesture. Miss Sydney Fairbrother is a sympathetic Tom Chickweed, and Miss Ada Elliston, a débutante, and the daughter of a popular local manager, played a colourless part with considerable promise. Mr. William Clayton as the scoundrelly husband, Mr. Percy Bell as the comic villain, Mr. John Clyde as the good-hearted country miller, and Mr. Lonnen Meadows as a “humble professional,” in other words an itinerant street mountebank, gave creditable support. ___
The Era (21 July, 1900 - Issue 3226) THE WEST LONDON. One never witnesses a representation of Alone in London without thinking of the sad fate of its original heroine, Miss Amy Roselle, who impersonated Nan, the flower girl, at the production of the piece at the Olympic during the ill-fated management of Mrs Conover. The pivot of the action is the pitiless cruelty displayed throughout towards the unfortunate Nan by her husband, Richard Redcliffe—a part that was played in the first performance by Mr Herbert Standing. It now falls to the lot of Mr Charles E. Millward, whose career of dramatic villainy at Mr William Bailey’s popular theatre is punctuated with hisses and jeers from very part of the house. This tribute to his thoroughness must be taken by the actor as sufficient testimony to his success. We are afraid to say how many times Mr Percy Bell has played the part of the impostor Jenkinson, but we remember his name for years past in association with the character. Repetition does not apparently dull the edge of his appreciation of the humour of the character—occasionally sardonic. mostly obvious, but always acceptable. The part of the benevolent and good-hearted John Biddlecombe has a vein of sincere sympathy as represented by Mr John Clyde, and in the character of the waif, Tom Chickweed, the worthy West Londoners have a part entirely to their liking, and their hearts have therefore gone out to Miss Iris Ward, who invests the character with a simple pathos that never fails to tell. Miss Vera Beringer has benefited largely by her provincial experience, and though her method is broader, her acting has lost none of its daintiness or charm. The character of Nan, for its proper delineation, requires a large amount of physical energy and sustained force, and both are happily forthcoming. The part of Charlie Johnson is played with an agreeable lightness of touch by Mr Lonnen Meadows, who contributes a very entertaining character sketch. Mr Henry Beaufort’s portrait of Mr Burnaby suggests solid respectability and successful finance, and that of Walter Burnaby by Mr Roland Daniel weak-kneed resolve and faint-heartedness. Miss Ada Elliston does not lack either grace or charm as Ruth Clifton; Mr J. W. Wilkinson is decidedly effective as Spriggins; and the benevolence of Mrs Maloney, from County Cork, enables Mrs J. M. Ward to score. Liz Jenkinson is adequately represented by Miss Ada Tilley. The outcasts and mendicants are capitally made up, and care in the presentation of detail is conspicuous. The scenery, with special mechanical effects, has all the thoroughness and realism that one expects from any representation that has had the supervision of Mr J. F. Elliston, and one is lost in admiration of the fine piece of brushwork by Hemsley—Westminster Bridge and Houses of Parliament by Night. Mr Warwick Major is the courteous business-manager of the company. ___
The Scotsman (23 October, 1900 - p. 5) “Alone in London” was presented at the Grand last evening by a very strong company under the direction of Mr Robert Buchanan and Miss Harriet Jay. The part of Nan the flower girl was ably sustained by Miss Vera Beringer, and she was well supported in the drama. A large audience appeared to extract a considerable amount of pleasure from the rendering of the familiar story. ___
The Stage (24 July, 1902 - p.11) THE CAMDEN. Alone in London has a strong hold on popular favour which seems to increase rather than diminish with the lapse of time, and its former triumphs are being equalled, if not excelled, at the Camden this week. A good melodrama is a most satisfying of dramatic entertainment, and no one can gainsay that the late Robert Buchanan and Harriett jay have given us in this work a fine example of the species. Camden Town likes a play of this genre, and is never slow to mark its approbation, showing ready sympathy with the much-tried heroine and meting out groans and hisses to the crime-stained villain. The piece is acted with all-round excellence by Mr. J. F. Elliston’s company. Miss Gertrude Evans makes a distinct impression as the heroine, imparting much reality to the pathetic scenes with which the part abounds. In a totally different manner Miss Ada Tilley, an actress of the Louie Freear type, gets on good terms with the audience; she is very droll throughout, but is at her best in act one—the lodging house in Drury Lane. Miss Frances Ferina, too, wins much applause for her meritorious work as the crippled boy Tom, and Miss Bessie Foote is no less effective as Mrs. Maloney. Mr. Henry Crocker is cleverly made up as the rich and kindly banker, Mr. Burnaby, and plays in a quiet, gentlemanly manner well suited to the part. Richard Redcliffe, the villain, is enacted with force by Mr. Stephen Ewart, who makes himself thoroughly repulsive to the gallery. Spriggins is amusingly portrayed by Mr. J. W. Wilkinson, and Mr. T. H. Solly makes Jenkinson an entertaining scoundrel. Mr. Lonnen Meadows is highly successful as the humble professional, Charley Johnson, in addition to having all the cares of stage manager to the company. Mr. Arthur C. Percy plays with robust earnestness as John Biddlecombe, and is popular from his first entrance. Mr. Creagh Hunt shows ability in the few opportunities at his disposal as Walter Burnaby, and Miss Lillie Lewis is adequate to the requirements of the character of Ruth Clinton. Next week the Camden will be closed for the usual summer vacation, reopening on August Bank Holiday with The Silver King. ___
The Scotsman (19 August, 1902 - p.6) THEATRE ROYAL. “Alone in London,” by the late Robert Buchanan and Harriet Jay, is the play at the Theatre Royal this week, and as usual when this drama comes to Edinburgh, the cheaper parts of the theatre were crowded last night. The company responsible for the production—Mr J. F. Elliston’s—is a capable one, and the drama suffers nothing in its representation. The villainy of the swell mobsman and his accomplices, the sufferings of the heroine and her child, the benevolence of the rich banker, and the humour of the “professional” and his wife, were all brought out effectively, and the audience hissed, cheered, and laughed heartily in turn. The swell mobsman was capably represented by Mr Stephen Ewart, and Mr J. W. Wilkinson and Mr T. H. Solly were successful in the characters of his accomplices. As Nan, the heroine, Miss Gertrude Evans won the sympathy of the audience. The other members were capable performers. ___
The Guardian (25 August, 1909 - p.7) “ALONE IN LONDON” AT THE QUEEN’S.—At the Queen’s Theatre this week a company directed by Mr. Charles Gibbon gives “Alone in London” once more. The company includes several members who have experience in good work, and the play has the touch of talent that was in everything written by Robert Buchanan—in this case a collaborator with Miss Harriett Jay. |
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(Click here for more information about Florence Turner.)
From The Argus (publ. Melbourne: 30 August, 1915 - p.10) MAJESTIC PICTURES. A fine film adaptation of Robert Buchanan’s play “Alone in London,” the story of which is familiar, through its previous stage representation in Melbourne, was the principal feature of the new programme of Spencer’s Pictures displayed at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday. The story is effectively reproduced on the screen, and the cinema actress Miss Florence Turner gives a splendid portrayal of the role of Nan, betrayed and deserted by a profligate husband, and fighting for the sake of her child against the machinations of the rogues who seek to lay the blame of their crime on the shoulders of the brave, innocent little girl. In this effort Miss Turner is seen at her best, and the audience follow with absorbing interest the stirring adventures of a country lass in the highways and byways of mighty London. Another attractive and enjoyable film was onme depicting the Royal Naval Division at work and at play. The Topical Gazettes—Australian and European—were replete with interesting matter, and a new Charles Chaplin comedy, “A Woman,” was thoroughly enjoyed. |
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[Advert from The Argus 27 August, 1915 - p.14]
From The Grey River Argus (publ. New Zealand: 29 March,1916 - p.6) POLLARD’S PICTURES. “ALONE IN LONDON.” What memories of Bland Holt and his splendid melodrama performances are revived by the name “Alone in London.” This very successful melodrama ranks with the great “The White Heather,” “New Babylon,” and other productions too numerous to mention that were all the rage during this wonderful actor-manager’s career. “Alone in London” is the true type of play so dear to the heart of a Londoner; full of quick, snappy dialogue; magnetic with sensational incident after incident, that culminate in the true dramatic situation. This story of a woman fighting against great odds to evade the pitfalls that beset the life of a girl in the poorest, richest, brightest and darkest city in the world, gains additional strength in the cinema production, inasmuch that scenes which were timber, calico and paint were relied upon for the background, whereas in the photoplay we have the true city scenes—the huge luminous crowds of this mighty city, throbbing and pulsating for a setting. “Nan,” the country maiden, is impersonated by the most charming of all cinema actresses, Miss Florence Turner. The moving picture panorama of scene and life in the great Metropolis forms attraction enough without the aid of the powerful play of which it is only an incident. “Alone in London” forms the whole of the second part of to-night’s display, and starts at 9.10 p.m. The first portion of the programme consists of a Gaumont scenic study of a village in Upper Egypt, situated on the Nile, entitled “A Trip to Leexor”; a Flying A. domestic drama, “The Problem”; the Vitagraph comedy, “The Right Girl,” the latest number of the animated Gaumont Graphic, and music by the full orchestra. _____
And, finally, I came across this in the ‘Wanted to Sell’ columns of The Stage (31 August, 1922 - p.22): |
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