(From Plymouth)
IN THE SPRING of 1924 a play was produced at the Court Theatre, and, in the vernacular of the profession, played to empty houses. Not a member of the provincial company but must have expected the notice to go up; and it is safe to say that in the case of a manager with less faith and resources than Barry Jackson the play must have been withdrawn.
But spring became summer, and London, going to work and play, still saw The Farmer's Wife advertised on the buses ; indeed, many of her millions were beginning to talk about it. News of the good show it was and of the fine performance of an actor called Cedric Hardwicke was spread by word of mouth ; and more and more came to see for themselves, and to laugh and clap, and pass the news on. The phenomenon is that out of apparent failure grew one of the record successes of the London stage, and it was proved once again that the public is, and always has been, the best judge of the fare it is offered. A simple story. All so fresh after the sophistication of the day.
A Devon farm ; bread and cheese and ale ; gossip ; the grass cut to the heart of the field, and guns bowling over the rabbits. Man and maid, and love and laughter; and the farmer, Sweetland, seeking a second wife.
We suspect that Churdles Ash had corns on his hands and a corner in cider ; he was all there ; he had dug himself a better hole on Sweetland's farm than any old soldier. With his shrewd wit, he is Shakespeare's clown ; and he and the misunderstandings of Petronell and George, of Sibley and Richard are the background for the rich comedy of Sweetland's courting.
If, in the second act, the play lapses into farce before returning to comedy again in the last, it is farce of a high order. Thirza Tapper 's party is one long laugh from start to finish.
The Farmer's Wife was broadcast by all Regionals, except Scottish, last night.
An article, by Ivor Brown , on Eden Phillpotts and The Farmer's Wife appears on page 370.