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The Shop at Sly Corner

Play · 1945

The Shop at Sly Corner is a 1945 thriller play by the British writer Edward Percy. An earlier version of the work had premiered at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, in 1941 under the title of Play with Fire. The revised version was staged at St Martin's Theatre in London's West End where it enjoyed a lengthy run of 863 performances between 11 April 1945 and 3 May 1947. Actors appearing at various stages in the original West End production included Victoria Hopper, Jean Colin, Joyce Heron, Cathleen Nesbitt, Viola Lyel, Kenneth Kent, Henry Oscar, Jack Vyvyan, Kenneth Griffith, Cyril Chamberlain and Deryck Guyler. Despite its London success, the play was a flop when it opened at the Booth Theatre in New York's Broadway, lasting for only seven performances.

The Shrike

Play · 1952

The play, set in the mental ward of a city hospital, revolves around a theatrical director named Jim Downs, who has been driven to the verge of insanity and suicide by his estranged wife Ann. To outsiders, Ann seems to epitomize sweetness, kindness and graciousness. In reality, she is a bitter, manipulative shrew. Like the shrike, a small predatory bird that kills and impales its prey, Ann seems harmless but her coercion of Jim incapacitates his free will and traps him under her control. Ann married Jim in hopes that he eventually would gain wealth and stardom, and so his lack of success galls her. Her mockery and nagging led Jim to a suicide attempt when he swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. The play opens with Jim's being admitted to the hospital, where doctors manage to save his life. Upon waking, Jim discovers that he is legally trapped in the hospital because the psychiatrists deem him a threat to himself and others and are unwilling to release him. Ann regularly visits Jim at the hospital, supposedly to provide comfort and love, but really to continue her hectoring and manipulation of him. She is able to charm the doctors, who usually accede to her wishes and follow her advice as to what is best for Jim. Jim comes to realize that the only way to secure his freedom is by cooperating with Ann, who has exploited the situation to regain power over her husband. In the end, Jim is released into Ann's care, thus moving from one type of prison to another.

The Sibyl

Play · 1813 est

The Sibyl, or The Elder Brutus is a tragedy by the English writer Richard Cumberland. Written but not performed or printed in his lifetime, it was included in the posthumous collections of his works published in 1813. Inspired by the Cumaean Sibyl, it depicts the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. On 3 December 1818 it premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. John Howard Payne substantially reworked the piece for production while Edmund Kean played the role of Brutus. It was performed and published under the title Brutus.

The Siege of Aquileia

Play · 1760

In Home's play, the governor of Aquileia is Aemilius, whose son Titus makes a diversionary attack against the besieging army. As Titus is on the point of being overwhelmed, his brother Paulus comes to the rescue, but both are captured, much to the distress of their mother Cordelia. The enemy commander, the usurping emperor Maximin, then threatens to execute the brothers unless their father surrenders, which Aemilius refuses to do despite Cordelia's pleas. Now the enemy messenger reveals himself as Varus, an old friend of Cordelia's, who promises to do what he can to preserve the lives of her sons. Later Varus returns with the terms that they will be spared if Aemilius will give the city up within three days; meanwhile Varus plans to engineer a mutiny among the besiegers. Now Titus is sent to persuade his father to give in, but cannot gain a hearing until he makes it plain that he opposes any such capitulation. When Varus's plot is discovered he is executed, but the troops under his command join those of Aemilius against Maximin, who is killed. Cordelia has at first taken the death of Varus for that of a son, but her relief is short-lived as Paulus enters with the mortally wounded Titus. Finally both parents agree in acknowledging with dignity their "mingled state of triumph, and of sorrow".

The Siege of Berwick

Play · 1793

At the start of the play, Seaton is refusing to surrender the fortified town to the English besiegers. His sons make a sally against them, but are captured. The enemy commander then sends them to Seaton with a message that if he does not yield, one of them will be chained to a pillar and exposed to the arrows shot from the walls. Both of them, however, resolve to return to the enemy camp together. Ethelberta then goes to the English commander, accompanied by Anselm, and makes an unsuccessful plea that her sons should be spared. During the subsequent attack on the town walls, the invaders are driven back and Seaton kills their commander. Afterwards the sons are rescued by Donaldson unharmed.

The Siege of Damascus

Play · 1720

The Siege of Damascus is a 1720 tragedy by the British writer John Hughes. It was inspired by Simon Ockley's 1708 study Conquest of Syria, and focuses specifically on the Siege of Damascus in 634. Originally staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with a cast featuring Robert Wilks as Eumenes, Thomas Walker as Daran, Barton Booth as Phocyas, John Mills as Caled, Mary Porter as Eudocia, Charles Williams as Herbis, William Mills as Artaman and John Thurmond as Abudah. it was a success and was revived frequently in the eighteenth century. It was his final work as he died shortly after its premiere.

The Siege of Meaux

Play · 1794

The Siege of Meaux is a 1794 historical tragedy by the English writer Henry James Pye. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden on 19 May 1794. It is set around the fighting at Meaux in the wake of the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years War. The original cast included William Farren as Duke of Orleans, Alexander Pope as Baron St Pol, Joseph George Holman as Earl of Douglas, James Middleton as Captal De Buche, George Davies Harley as Dubois and Elizabeth Pope as Matilda.

The Siege of St Quintin

Play · 1808

The Siege of St Quintin is an 1808 historical play by the British writer Theodore Hook. It is inspired by the 1557 Battle of St. Quentin. Its theme of a past Anglo-Spanish victory over the French was in line with British support for modern Spain in the Peninsular War following its invasion by Napoleonic forces the same year. It premiered at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 10 November 1808. Revisions were made by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and his son Thomas Sheridan, part of the management of Drury Lane. The original Drury Lane cast included Robert William Elliston as Count Egmont, James William Wallack as Theodore, John Braham as Everard, Vincent De Camp as Bertrand, Harriet Siddons as Adriana, John Henry Johnstone as Sir Leinster Kildare, Walter Maddocks as Captain McIntyre, William Penley as Jack, Thomas Cooke as Sergeant Sturdy, John Duruset as singer, Matilda Ray as Rosa De Valmont and Charlotte Tidswell as Margaret. Accompanying music was composed by James Hook.

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window

Play · 1964

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window depicts Sidney, an intellectual writer and his wife, Iris, who are in a difficult marriage. Sidney struggles through life in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood as an unsuccessful artist. His ideals cause him to avoid politics and its corruption while facing a painful home life. Iris is a struggling actress who, during the course of the play, leaves her antagonistic husband to enter the television scene. Both Sidney and Iris attack each other's self-confidence through extensive dialogue, despite their affection for each other. Alton Scales is an African-American activist and Sidney's friend who falls in love with Iris' beautiful sister Gloria, a supposed international model. He is able to persuade Sidney to support the candidacy of Wally O’Hara despite Sidney's initial refusal to incorporate politics into his newly established artistic newspaper. Wally is a local reform politician who is appalled by the extensive drug use in Greenwich Village and the surrounding area. Sidney agrees to support him but later learns of O’Hara’s corruption; afterwards Sidney harbors significant hatred for the reform politician. Gloria's idealistic image is shattered when Alton learns that she is a prostitute and not an international model as she and her sister Iris had insisted. Wrought with anguish at the idea of his beloved being used as a commodity, and tying it to the same ideology used to justify the African slave trade (to which he traces his roots), Alton leaves Gloria. In an act of desperation and shame, she dies by suicide. Attributing Gloria's suicide to the campaigning slogans of Wally, Sidney develops a position in opposition to the politician. This creates problems that reconcile Sidney and Iris. The play ends with a scene of Sidney and Iris in a devastated embrace at the loss of Gloria. Iris indicates with her last lines of the play that she wants to come home. Sidney makes a silent agreement that they will figure everything out. Despite the constant dark bickering that the two had throughout the play, it closes while the two are interlocked as the sun rises. The play is presented in various ways through its acts: Act I consists of dialogue, Act II consists of multiple monologues tying together Acts I and Act II, while Act III ends tragically, concluding the play.

The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles: A Vision of Judgement

Play · 1935

On a newly emerged Polynesian island, an East Asian princess, a priest and two European couples form a polygamous community intended to create a utopia. Their children lack common sense; when a British clergyman joins the community, scandal leads to a threatened invasion. An Angel of the Lord then brings the Last Judgement, making most inhabitants disappear as useless.

The Six Days' Adventure

Play · 1671

The Six Days' Adventure; Or, The New Utopia is a 1671 comedy play by the English writer Edward Howard. First performed by the Duke's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London, the original cast included Cave Underhill as Sir Adam Meridith, Matthew Medbourne as Sir Grave Solymour, Henry Harris as Sir Franckman, John Crosby as Featlin, John Young as Polidor, James Nokes as Foppering, Edward Angel as Peacock, Samuel Sandford as Orlando Curioso, Mary Betterton as Serina, Anne Shadwell as Celinda, Jane Long as Crispina, Elinor Dixon as Petilla and Mary Lee as Eugenia.

The Skin Game

Play · 1920

The plot tells the story of the interaction between two very different families in rural England just after the end of the First World War. Squire Hillcrist lives in the manor house where his family has lived for generations. He has a daughter, Jill, who is in her late teens and a wife Amy, as well as servants and retainers. He is "old money", although his finances are at a low ebb. The other family is the nouveau riche Hornblowers, headed by the single-minded and rich industrialist Hornblower who throws old retainers the Jackmans out of their home (much to the Squire's disgust), and who plans to surround the Hillcrist's rural estate with factories. Hillcrist wants to preserve the last piece of open land (known as the "Centry") which adjoins their property but he is (as he sees it) tricked out of the land in an auction. The Hillcrists plan to get even with the upstart Hornblower and fortuitously learn a dark secret about Mr. Hornblower's daughter-in-law Chloe who had once supported herself as the "other party" in divorce cases. When he is told the news, Mr. Hornblower agrees to sell the property to the Hillcrists for less than half the auction price on the condition that the family swears to keep the secret, but the news leaks out via the unprincipled Dawker, Hillcrist's agent and Hornblower's enemy. Chloe Hornblower goes to the Hillcrists, begging them to help keep the secret from her husband, who is aware that something is going on, then hides behind a curtain when her husband storms into the Hillcrist home demanding to know the secret. Keeping his promise to Chloe, Mr. Hillcrist makes up a story, but the young Hornblower is not convinced and declares that he intends to end his marriage, even though Chloe is pregnant. Upon hearing this, Chloe runs to the lily pond outside the Hillcrist home and tries to drown herself. She is brought into the house and it is clear that she will live.

The Skin of Our Teeth

Play · 1942

Act I is an amalgam of early 20th century New Jersey and the dawn of the Ice Age. The father is inventing things such as the lever, the wheel, the alphabet, and multiplication tables. The family and the entire Northeastern U.S. face extinction by a wall of ice moving southward from Canada. The story is introduced by a narrator and further expanded by the family maid, Sabina. There are unsettling parallels between the members of the Antrobus family and various characters from the Bible. In addition, time is compressed and scrambled to such an extent that the refugees who arrive at the Antrobus house seeking food and fire include the Old Testament prophet Moses, the ancient Greek poet Homer, and women who are identified as Muses. Act II takes place on the Boardwalk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the Antrobuses are present for George's swearing-in as president of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Mammals, Subdivision Humans. Sabina is present, also, in the guise of a scheming beauty queen, who tries to steal George's affection from his wife and family. The conventioneers are rowdy and party furiously, but there is an undercurrent of foreboding, as a fortune teller warns of an impending storm. The weather soon transforms from summery sunshine to hurricane to deluge. Gladys and Henry attempt their individual rebellions and are brought back into line by the family. The act ends with the family members reconciled and, paralleling the biblical story of Noah's Ark, directing pairs of animals to safety on a large boat, where they survive the storm and the end of the world. Act III takes place in the ruins of the Antrobuses' former home. A devastating war has occurred; Maggie and Gladys have survived by hiding in a cellar. When they come out of the cellar, Gladys is seen to have a baby. Sabina joins them and is "dressed as a Napoleonic camp-follower." George has been away at the front lines leading an army. Henry also fought, on the opposite side, and returns as a general. The family members discuss the ability of the human race to rebuild and continue after continually destroying itself. The question is raised: "Is there any accomplishment or attribute of the human race of enough value that its civilization should be rebuilt?" The stage manager interrupts the play-within-the-play to explain that several members of their company cannot perform their parts, possibly from food poisoning (as the actress playing Sabina saw blue mold on the lemon meringue pie at dinner). The stage manager drafts a janitor, a dresser, and other non-actors to fill their parts, which involve quoting philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle to mark the passing of time within the play. The alternate history action ends where it began, with Sabina dusting the living room and worrying about George's arrival from the office. Her final acts are to address the audience and to turn over the responsibility of continuing the action, or life, to them.

The Sleeping Car

Play · 1883 est

During an overnight train journey, anxious new mother Agnes Roberts repeatedly wakes a fellow passenger while worrying about her husband, baby, and long-absent brother. Her husband boards secretly, then mistakes the passenger’s berth for hers; when the brother finally joins them, Agnes and her aunt successively mistake the same Californian for their relatives and acquaintances. The three-part farce turns their mistaken identities and interruptions into escalating comedy.

The Slighted Maid

Play · 1663

The Slighted Maid is a 1663 comedy play by the English writer Robert Stapylton. It was staged by the Duke's Company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London. The cast included Henry Harris as Salerno, Thomas Betterton as Iberio, Matthew Medbourne as Filomarini, William Smith as Lugo, Philip Cademan as Arviedo, John Young as Corbulo, Cave Underhill as Peralta, James Nokes as Gioseppe, Samuel Sandford as Vindex, Anne Gibbs as Decio, Jane Long as Diacelia and Mary Betterton as Pyramena.

The Smell of the Kill

Play · 1999

The Smell of the Kill is a play by Michele Lowe that premiered at Cleveland Play House in 1999. A dark comedy about housewives facing marital crises, and then opportunity, when their husbands accidentally trap themselves in a meat locker, opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre March 26, 2002 and ran to April 28, 2002. The cast starred Lisa Emery, Claudia Shear and Jessica Stone, with direction by Christopher Ashley. It closed after 40 performances.

The Soap Myth

Play · 2009

Elderly Holocaust survivor Milton Saltzman befriends Annie Blumberg, a young Jewish journalist assigned to cover his demand that museums acknowledge his account of soap made from human remains. Annie is caught between Saltzman’s testimony and historians’ refusal to publish a claim without surviving production records, while Holocaust denier Brenda Goodsen attacks the history itself. The play examines how memory, documentation and denial shape public understanding of the Holocaust.

The Song of Jacob Zulu

Play · 1993

The Song of Jacob Zulu is an American play that debuted on Broadway in 1993. Written by Tug Yourgrau, with lyrics by Tug Yourgrau and Ladysmith Black Mambazo and music by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and produced by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the play is a drama set during Apartheid in South Africa. The play's Broadway production was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor in a Play for K. Todd Freeman, and Best Featured Actor in a Play for Zakes Mokae.

The Song of Songs

Play · 1914

Shop girl Lily Kardos marries Senator Calkins, but secretly continues to see her ex-lover Richard Laird on the side. Calkins abandons Lily when he discovers her infidelity. Lily then begins a relationship with Stephen Bennett. Stephen's uncle Phineas, aware of Lily's reputation, gets her drunk at a party to reveal the truth about her to Stephen. Her inappropriate behavior causes Stephen to break up with her. In the final act, she returns to Richard Laird.

The Spartan Dame

Play · 1719

The Spartan Dame is a 1719 tragedy by the Irish writer Thomas Southerne. It was inspired by a story from Plutarch's Life of Aegis and was originally written as early 1687, but faced a long period of censorship and revision. The Drury Lane managers chose to revive it at a time of tension with the Stanhope-led government Whigs over licensing issues, and may have selected it because its plot subtly allowed them to demonstrate sympathy with the opposition Whigs led by Robert Walpole following the recent Whig Split. The actor-manager at Drury Lane, Colley Cibber appeared as Crites. Other members of the cast included John Mills as Leonidas, Barton Booth as Cleombrotus, Robert Wilks as Eurytion, Anne Oldfield as Celona, John Corey as Agesilius, William Mills as Mandrocles, James Oates as Thracion, and Mary Porter as Thelamia.

The Speed of Darkness

Play · 1989

Joe is a successful businessman and a popular member of his community. He is a Vietnam War veteran. A hero to his neighbors. A construction contractor who has achieved phenomenal commercial success after the war. He is a family man. He has been named South Dakota's Man of the Year. Everything is going perfectly until he meets a fellow Vietnam War vet, Lou. Lou, by contrast, is a total failure, a homeless man who has been shattered by the war. During this unexpected encounter, Lou reveals secrets that threaten to undermine Joe's perfect world. Joe discovers that his daughter is not his own. But what brings their world crashing down is the long-held secret that Lou reveals on how Joe began his rise to success. Joe's fortune was based on a crime. Both Joe and Lou were complicit. They had illegally dumped barrels of toxic waste on the bluffs overlooking the area. The toxins polluted and poisoned the water supply in the region. Lou commits suicide. Joe must come to terms with their illegal act.

The Sporting Thing To Do

Play · 1922

The Sporting Thing To Do is a play by Thompson Buchanan. The play premiered at the Philharmonic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 4, 1922. Produced by Oliver Morosco and directed by Fred J. Butler, the original cast included Enid Bennett, Edith Lyle, Warner Baxter, Adele Belgarde, Boyd Irwin, Roscoe Karns, Henry Hail, Innis Shearer, Harry Manners, Thomas Galloway, and Chas A. Stevenson. Co-directed by Morosco and Clifford Brooke, the cast included James K. Applebee as Rev. Dr. Clegg, Bertha Belmore as Mrs. Suzanne Clegg, William Boyd as Jack Thornton, Walker Dennett as Colonel Thornton, Mary Fisher as Miss Simpson, Robert Hudson as Thomas Kennedy, Clara Joel as Eleanor Ainsworth, Della Johnson as Mandy, Jack Raffael as Judge McLean, H. Reeves Smith as Jim Loundsbury, Emily Stevens as Jean Thornton, and Ethel Winthrop as Mrs. Thornton. In closed in March 1943 after 40 performances.

The Squall

Play · 1926

This synopsis was compiled from contemporaneous newspaper reviews. The Mendez family, their servants and retainers, are a content group living on their land in the village of Queano, near Granada. During a squall, a fearful Gypsy girl seeks refuge with the family. Her name is Nubi, and she is being pursued by a large fierce-looking Gypsy called El Moro. He is chieftain of her family group and wants to take her back to them, but the Mendez family hides her and claims she went elsewhere. Nubi persuades Delores Mendez to let her stay. She is striking looking, with curly black hair and large gold hoop earrings, which seem to bedazzle Juan Mendez, and Pedro the hired hand. As a servant, she soon proves worthless. She stands about, hands on hips, bewitching the men and urging them on with promises. She drives a wedge between Pedro and Manuella, while bewitching Juan, and even tempting José. She is causing gossip among the village folk with her wanton behavior. Delores is at a loss what to do. If she throws Nubi out, the men might follow her. Delores prays to the Virgin Mary for help, but is appalled to see Juan come out of Nubi's bedroom in the morning. He has given Nubi a valuable necklace for her favors. But El Moro returns, having been secretly summoned by Delores, carrying a large whip. This time the family yields up Nubi when he tells them she deserted her husband and baby. He drags her off by her hair, and the Mendez family tries to regain their previous contentment.

The Squire of Alsatia

Play · 1688

The Squire of Alsatia is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas Shadwell. Alsatia was a nickname for the Whitefriars area of London, deriving from Alsace in northeastern France. A restoration comedy, it was performed at the Drury Lane Theatre by the United Company following John Crowne's Darius, King of Persia. One of the best-remembered roles, that of the shrewish Mrs. Termagant was first performed by Elizabeth Boutell. The play was revived numerous times during the eighteenth century. The original Drury Lane cast included Anthony Leigh as Sir William Belfond, Philip Griffin as Sir Edward Belfond, Thomas Jevon as Belford senior, William Mountfort as Belfont junior, John Bowman as Trueman, Samuel Sandford as Cheatly, George Powell as Shamwell, George Bright as Captain Hackum, Martin Powell as Attorney, John Freeman as Scrapeall, Cave Underhill as Lolpoop, John Verbruggen as Termagant, Frances Maria Knight as Teresia, Susanna Verbruggen as Isabella, Anne Bracegirdle as Lucia and Elizabeth Boutell as Mrs. Termagant.

The Star-Wagon

Play · 1937

A fantasy of time-travel. The setting is manufacturing town in Eastern Ohio at what was the present time for the audience in the premiere, 1937. The setting then changes to thirty-five years back in time, 1905, and to a few years before that. Stephen Minch is an inventor and Martha Minch is his wife. A time travel machine is developed, the star-wagon. 1905 is the subsequent time for when the time travelers arrive in the same location, at the dawn of the automobile. The end result of the time traveling the world consist of what is to be, and that is just what happens.

The Stepmother

Play · 1663

The Stepmother or The Step-Mother is a 1663 tragicomedy by the English writer Robert Stapylton. It was first staged by the Duke's Company, premiering at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. The original cast included Samuel Sandford as Sylvanus, Thomas Betterton as Filamor, John Young as Adolph, Cave Underhill as Tetrick, Joseph Price as Fromund, William Smith as Crispus, Matthew Medbourne as Capito, Mary Betterton as Caesarina, Moll Davis as Violinda and Jane Long as Brianella.

The Story of Monsieur Jourdan, a Botanist, and the Dervish Mastalishah, a Famous Sorcerer

Play · 1851

In Karabakh, French botanist Monsieur Jourdan’s stories of Paris inspire Shahbaz, nephew of the local ruler, to travel there to study. Shahbaz’s fiancée and aunt oppose the plan and pay the dervish Mastali to destroy Paris by sorcery. When news of revolution and the king’s flight reaches the household, the women believe Mastali’s spell worked, but Shahbaz stays behind.

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