Quality Street: West End Revivals

London, 1913: Act 3 scene—at the Ball, Cathleen Nesbitt as Phoebe Throssel (aka Miss Livvy) pretends to faint. From The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 20 December 1913.

First Revival

Quality Street. Comedy in four acts by J.M. Barrie. Presented by Charles Frohman. Produced under the direction of Dion Boucicault. Costumes by Percy Anderson. Scenery painted by W. Hann and Sons.

Eleven years after the original London production, Quality Street was revived for the first time at the Duke of York’s Theatre, 26 November 1913–21 February 1914.

Dion Boucicault, who directed the play, enjoyed a long association with the plays of J.M. Barrie, including the first productions of The Wedding Guest (1900), The Admirable Crichton (1902), Little Mary (1903), Peter Pan (1904), Alice Sit-by-the-Fire (1905) and What Every Woman Knows (1908). Of the cast, Dion’s sister, Nina Boucicault (1867-1950), who played Susan Throssel, had previously created the lead roles in Little Mary and Peter Pan. Dion and Nina had both spent their early careers in Australia, and in the 1920s, Dion returned to Australia several time, including a tour of Barrie plays in 1926.

Of the lead players, America-British actor Godfrey Tearle (1884-1953) was a member of a distinguished acting family and would enjoy a long and successful career on stage and film in the UK and Hollywood. Usually cast as the quitessential British gentleman, he also excelled in Shakespeare roles. He was knighted in 1951. Cathleen Nesbitt (1888-1982) made her stage debut in 1910 and like Tearle, divided her time between the UK and America, appearing in both plays and films.

Of the supporting cast, Louie Pounds (1872-1970) visited Australia in 1920/1921 as a member of Oscar Asche’s Chu Chin Chow company. In 1920 Australians would have the opportunity of seeing George Tully (1876-1930)  inThe Man from Toronto. Muriel Martin Harvey (1891-1988), the daughter of John Martin Harvey, would be seen in Australia in 1923, playing starring roles in If Winter Comes and The Cat and the Canary. And in 1925, Susan Richmond (1891-1958) would tour in The Farmer’s Wife.

The cast comprised:

From The Tatler, 17 December 1913

The Reviews

There are, alas! Few plays that stand the test of time as well as James Barrie’s Quality Street”, which was revived by Mr. Charles Frohman last Wednesday night at the Duke of York’s Theatre. Its fragrance is as sweet as it was on its production in 1902, its charm is undiminished by time. In the opinion of many, “Quality Street”, in spite of the author’s brilliant later work, remains the most typically “Barrieish”—that is to say, the best of all his plays. The present production, under the excellent direction of Mr. Dion Boucicault, lends it a graciousness, a sense of space, which it lacked in the smaller theatre which was the scene of its first triumph.

An exceedingly interesting cast has been chosen for the revival. No one who saw Miss Marion Terry as Susan Throssell is likely to forget her exquisite acting in the part. All who are privileged to see Miss Nina Boucicault as the sweet old maid will place her performance as one of the most beautiful, tender impersonations that has been seen on our stage. The two conceptions are entirely different, they are the expressions of diverse personalities, they are not to be compared, for there is no comparison—they stand side by side, each distinct, both perfect.

Much interest centred in the choice of Miss Cathleen Nesbitt as “Phoebe of the ringlets”. Miss Nesbitt is set a hard task, and she acquits herself highly creditably for so young and comparatively inexperienced an actress. Her chief fault is self-consciousness, which makes some of her comedy effects mechanical, with the result that a touch of hardness is conveyed that is foreign to the character. She is at her best, and is very good indeed, in the schoolroom scene; in fact, whenever her overflow of exuberance is checked, Miss Nesbitt shows that she has in her the making of a first-rate actress.

Mr. Godfrey Tearle is a delightful Valentine Brown, manly, and very attractive, in spite of his obtuseness. Mr. Tearle has become that most valuable acquisition to a cast, a “sound” actor; and he is, of course, immensely aided by Nature, which has blessed him with a handsome face, a fine figure, a pleasant voice, and a “presence”.

Miss Louie Pounds is very successful in, for her, the small part of the buxom Patty, which she plays with the air of confident humour which always distinguishes her performances. Miss Mary Barton is most excellent as Miss Willoughby, and Miss Muriel Martin Harvey manages very cleverly to impart a touch of character to the part of Henrietta Turnbull, while a pretty little picture of a sweet but rather foolish little lady is given by Miss Marie Hemingway, who looks particularly charming in her poke bonnet and ringlets. Mr. George Tully, as the recruiting sergeant, gets an excellent effect of bluff humour. Mr. Austin Melford is capital as the stilted Ensign Blades, and Miss Susan Richmond is good as the affected Charlotte.

The Era, 3 December 1913, p.15

From The Tatler, 17 December 1913

Barrie, with all is naivete is ever a potent force at the Duke of York’s, and his pretty tale now receives very pleasing exposition. Miss Boucicault, a gracious, serene, and duly proper Susan is especially good in her gentle antipathy for the elder Willoughby sister and in her grave utterance of the really mock-serious line, “He has taken ‘Livy’ with him”. Mr Tearle, although he takes pains to assume the “dashing” demeanour of Valentine Brown, is more completely at home, we think, in the more earnest and strenuous passages of the part, those in which Brown compares Phoebe to a sweet Old-world Garden, rebukes the flighty “Livy”, and avows with fervour the strength of his finally acknowledged love for the supposed aunt. A little cold and restrained in some of her earlier scenes, Miss Nesbitt, after succeeding in looking the tired and almost faded woman of thirty, wearied by teaching children dancing and other accomplishments for ten years, plays with much tenderness and feeling as the real Phoebe, and with the high spirits required as the hoydenish and “unlady-like” “Livy”. Mr Melford and Mr Douglas give Miss Nesbitt excellent support where the young officers find “Livy” ready to flirt with them, and the other ladies of Quality Street are represented capitally by Misses Barton, Hemingway, Harvey, and Susan Richmond, looking very charming in the costumes of the period designed by Percy Anderson. A bright, cheery, and exhilarating personage is the inventive Patty as represented with great success by Miss Pounds, and another favourite is Master Ronald Hammond as the foolscap-wearing lad Arthur Wellesley Tomson, who “wants to be punished”. The others in the present cast of Quality Street contribute their share to the effect of what will probably be a successful Barrie revival.

The Stage, 27 November 1913, p.26

London 1921: Act 2 scene—Fay Compton (Phoebe Throssel), Muriel Alexander (Fanny Willoughby), Leon Quartermaine (Valentine Brown), Nancye Kenyon (Henrietta Turnbull), and Mary Jerrold (Susan Throssel). From The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 10 September 1921.

Second Revival

Quality Street. Comedy in four acts by J.M. Barrie. Presented by J.E. Vedrenne. Produced by Charles La Trobe. Scenery designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, R.A., and painted by Joseph and Phil Harker. Incidental music selected and arranged by Norman O’Neill.

The second revival was at the Haymarket Theatre, 11 August 1921–03 June 1922.

The lead actress, Fay Compton (1894-1978), was regarded as a Barrie actress. She appeared in numerous Barrie plays, including the first production of Mary Rose (1920) and revivals of Peter Pan (1917) and The Little Minister (1923). Much later in 1960, she was involved in a revival of What Every Woman Knows, which starred Maggie Smith. During the current season, romance blossommed for real, and in February 1922, Fay Compton and Leon Quartermaine (who played Valentine) were married. When Fay Compton toured Australia in 1938 with Victoria Regina, it was hoped that she would stage Mary Rose.

Actress Mary Jerrold (1877-1955), who played Susan Throssel, would revive her role in Australia, when in 1926, she and her husband Hubert Harben, were members of Dion Bouciault’s company. In later years she would appear in London revivals of Dear Brutus in 1941 and Shall We Join the Ladies? in 1950.

Of the supporting cast, in later years Nigel Bruce (1895-1953) would gain fame as a character actor in Hollywood films of the 1930s and 40s, especially rememberred for playing Doctor Watson to Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes in a series of films from 1939 to 1946, and also on U.S. radio adaptations of the Conan Doyle stories.

The full cast of Quality Street comprised:

Leon Quartermaine as Captain Valentine Brown

From The Tatler, 7 September 1921

Mary Jerrold as Susan Throssel

Reviews

What an exquisite play Barrie’s “Quality Street” is! How pure and tender its sentiment, how delightful its humour, how fragrant its atmosphere! It had a wonderful revival (for the third time) at the Haymarket Theatre last Thursday night. A house crowded with notabilities, a house responding to the Barrie touch with tears, while laughter was yet on the lips, and laughter again before the tears had dried, and an unequalled cast, all contributed to make a memorable night. There were many in the house who remembered the sweet Phoebe Throssell of Miss Ellaline Terriss (her original impersonator), the “dashing” Valentine Brown of Seymour Hicks, as well as the captivating Phoebe of Miss Cathleen Nesbitt, and the handsome “V.B.” of Mr. Godfrey Tearle of the 1913 revival. Yet we heard many of the younger generation say that they had never seen either, the first performances were too far distant, the revival they has missed by some mischance. Whether we, who had seen both, or they who saw it eyes unclouded by memories, were most to be envied, it is impossible to say. Perhaps both rejoiced equally in Mr. J.E. Vedrenne’s beautiful production.

The story of courtship in “Quality Street” is exquisitely told, as only Barrie can tell it. It is also very perfectly acted by a splendid company. Miss Fay Compton, a picture of dainty loveliness in the quaint, charming costumes of the time, gave a notable performance as Phoebe, her sincerity, her pathos, her delicious gaiety. It is almost impossible to overpraise, and she has wonderful power of expression in her face. Miss Fay Compton has achieved much, but nothing surpasses the perfection of her Phoebe Throssell. The Miss Susan of Miss Mary Jerrold was acting of rare delicacy and tenderness, abounding in those beautiful little touches of gentleness and sweetness that Miss Jerrold knows so well how to give to a character. As Patty, the maid, Miss Hilda Trevelyan was unapproachable; it is a small part, but played by Miss Trevelyan it was a perfect little character sketch. Mr. Leon Quartermaine was, if less “dashing”, more sympathetic than either of the other “V.B.s” that we have seen. He was less of a “quiz” and more in earnest. We felt that Phoebe’s happiness would be safe with him. Of the others, all good, we particularly liked the Ensign Blades of Mr. Nigel Bruce and the Miss Willloughby of Miss Mary Barton.

There were many curtains, both at the intervals and at the conclusion of the play. Finally, Miss Fay Compton was induced to make a short speech. She said, “I am afraid you will not believe me, but Sir James Barrie is not in the house; he is in Scotland. We all want to thank you very much for the wonderful way in which you have received the play to-night.”

The Era, 17 August 1921, p.11

Fay Compton as Phoebe (Miss Livvy), with Nigel Bruce (Ensign Blades) and Cecil Trouncer (Lieut. Spicer)

From The Tatler, 7 September 1921

Fay Compton as Phoebe Throssel

From The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 8 October 1921

Great success attended here, on August 11, Mr. J.E. Vedrenne’s production of J.M. Barrie’s once more revived “Quality Street”, which was produced for Mr. Vedrenne by Mr. Charles La Trobe, under the personal direction of the author (said to be away in Scotland by Miss Fay Compton in her little speech of thanks at the close of the performance), and the effect of a delightfully artistic ensemble was enhanced by the fact that Sir Edwin Lutyens, R.A., had designed the scenery, which was painted by Joseph and Phil Harker. Thus, in the famous Blue and White Room, in three out of four acts, we had blue curtains matched by blue china and walls and doors, all in white, whilst in the Tent Pavilion scene, in the third act, at the Ball, the brilliant uniforms of the officers were set off well by the old-style dresses of the ladies. With carefully performed dances, arranged by Louis H. D’Egville, and with incidental music by Norman O’Neill, the director of the orchestra at Mr. Frederick Harrison’s house, the production work was complete in every detail, and from the generally curtained windows of the Throssell sisters’ home in Quality Street one could see all the passers-by and also the houses on the other side, from one of which the suspicious Willoughbys were watching.

The Stage, 18 August 1921, p.14

Henry Mackinnon Walbrook in J.M. Barrie and the Theatre (1922) wrote of the 1921/22 revival:

This last-mentioned revival of the play came at what is called a psychological moment. The long years of the great war, with their records of heroism and endurance at home and abroad, were still vividly in the public memory, and the dramatist’s picture of the very similar experiences of our forefathers during and after the struggle with Napoleon had all the thrill of a modern document with the added grace of by-gone manners. During the year 1921, moreover, so many indifferent plays were presented to the London public that the chance of seeing one that contained real feeling and humour and was quite beautifully acted was naturally anticipated. Seen in the light of the actual experiences of war, Quality Street impressed the Londoners of 1921-2 as a far more realistic thing than it had seemed on that night of laughter and cheers in the little Vaudeville twenty years before. This latter revival submitted the play to the most searching of tests, and it came through splendidly. (pp.80-81)

Angela Baddeley as “Phoebe of the Ringlets”

From The Bystander, 27 February 1929

From The Sketch, 3 April 1929

Third Revival

Quality Street. Comedy in four acts by J.M. Barrie. Play produced by Charles La Trobe under the personal direction of the Author. The Blue and White Room has been re-designed from drawings by Sir Edwin Lutyens, R.A., by S.H. Evans, L.R.I.B.A., and painted by Joseph and Phil Harker. The Quality Street act-drop has been specially designed by Aubrey Hammond and painted by Alick Johnstone. The Prelude and Incidental Music composed and arranged by Norman O’Neill.

Thirdly Quality Street was seen again at the Haymarket Theatre, 14 February 1929–13 April 1929.

Of the cast, Angela Baddeley (1904-1976) reprised her role of Phoebe, first performed in Australia in 1926, and Hilda Trevelyan (1880-1959) played Patty, having performed the role in the 1921 revival. Also, Walton Palmer was once again A Waterloo Veteran. In April 1928, Francis Lister visited Australia as leading man to Margaret Bannerman, but his trip ended on a sour note when he broke his contract and returned to London after just 16 weeks of a 26 week engagement. It is also worth noting that Joan Harben (1909-1953), who played Charlotte, was the daughter of Mary Jerrold, who portrayed Susan Throssel in the 1921 revival.

Angela Baddeley

alchetron.com

Francis Lister, 1929

eBay

Reviews

“Quality Street” bears reviving wonderfully well. Following the original production at the Vaudeville, in September, 1902, with Mr. Seymour Hicks and Miss Ellaline Terriss, as “dashing” Valentine Brown and Phoebe of the ringlets, it was revived at the Duke of York’s, November 1913, with Mr. Godfrey Tearle, as the young soldier, and Misses Cathleen Nesbitt and Nina Boucicault as the Throssel sisters of Barrie’s delightfully old-world Quality Street. Next, as reproduced by Mr. J.E. Vedrenne, it ran, for 344 performances from August of 1921 into the summer of the year following. Now, once more at the Haymarket, it is being presented by Mr. Horace Watson, the play being produced by Mr. Charles La Trobe, under the personal direction of the distinguished author. The famous Blue and White Room has been re-designed from the drawings of Sir Edwin Lutyens, R.A., by S.H. Evans, L.R.I.B.A, and has been painted by the Harkers. Aubrey Hammond has designed the Quality Street act drop, and the music has been composed and arranged by Norman O’Neill. With such accessories, and with the aptitude shown in the School scene by the clever children, pupils of Miss Italia Conti, the ensemble of the present successful revival of Barrie’s fantasy, with charade-like ending, may be compared with those of its predecessors.

Those recent “Marigold” comrades, Miss Jean Cadell and Miss Angela Baddeley, are associated again, this time as poor wedding-gown-cherishing Susan and lion-hearted Phoebe. They play beautifully right from the expected proposal onwards. The School scene is capitally done, prominent therein being Master Douglas Beaumont, Miss Emily Bailey, and Master Freddie Springett. Admirably contrived is the staging of the Ball scene, in which figures of importance are the Charlotte of Miss Joan Harben, the Harriet of Miss Prunella Norman-Page, the Ensign Blades of Mr. Deering Wells, and the Lieut. Spicer of Mr. Lawrence Ireland. Miss Hilda Trevelyan, ever at her very best in Barrie, is delightfully saucy and presuming as Patty, to the rollicking Hibernian Recruiting Sergeant of that old Irish Player, Mr. Sidney Morgan. Those three inquisitive old maids of quality, the Misses Willoughby and Henrietta Turnbull, have delightful exposition from Misses Constance Anderson, Margaret Webster, and Emmie Arthur-Williams. Mr. Francis Lister, as Brown, plays with the necessary suggestion of dash, and also displays abundant spirit when Valentine turns fiercely upon the coquette posing as “Miss Livvy”, whose final disappearance, in the Barriesque vein of make-believe, is surely not to be regretted. Anyhow, the revival, thus staged and acted, ought to attract Sir James’s devotees to the Haymarket.

The Stage, 21 February 1929, p.16

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Fourth Revival

Quality Street. Comedy in four acts by J.M. Barrie. Play presented and produced by Anthony Hawtrey. Settings by Lucienne Gow and Mary Purvis.

Next, it was at the Embassy Theatre, 06 February 1945–03 March 1945. This play re-opened the Embassy after five years of darkness, the theatre having been damaged in the war. Actor/manager Anthony Hawtrey commenced his tenue as director, a position he would hold until 1954.

Among the leads, both Linden Travers and Geoffrey Toone are now best remembered for their film roles. Likewise, Bryan Forbes (1926-2013), would go on to become a major British film director. Ursula Howells (1922-2005), who was making her London debut, would also enjoy a career on stage, cinema and TV. Jean Forbes-Robertson was an important stage actress in Shakespeare and also played Peter Pan for several seasons between 1927 and 1938.

Jean Forbes-Robertson photographed by Angus McBean

Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University

Reviews

The Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage, bombed four years ago, has reopened with a piece of pure, charming entertainment, Barrie’s “Quality Street”.

It is difficult to believe that women really were so genteel and winsome and men so gallant, but believing is by the way, and unbelievers can still fall for Quality Street’s spell.

Linden Travers, as Phoebe of the Ringlets tends to swoop too much at the beginning of the play, but after the first ten minutes she calms down and her subsequent performance is enchanting. Jean Forbes-Robertson, as her sister, shares her laurels. Her Susan has an intriguing depth and a hint of a charm maybe greater than Phoebe’s. The eye lingers longer on Phoebe, but the heart warms for Susan.

Geoffrey Toone as Captain Brown is completely dashing and manly. Of the minor characters, praise goes to Yvette Pienne for her robust and unquenchable Patty, and to Bryan Forbes as that bouncing young man Ensign Blades.

Anthony Hawtrey’s production is excellent and the sets and costumes are brilliant and colourful. Only one complaint—must the intervals be so long?

Hampstead News, 15 February 1945, p.4

Further Revivals

And for the record, in addition to numerous provincial revivals, many of which are listed in Theatricalia, the most recent London revival of Quality Street took place at the Richmond Theatre in London, 12–15 April 2023.

Bibliography

Max Beerbohm, Around Theatres, William Heinemann, London, 1924

Andrew Birkin, J.M. Barrie & the Lost Boys: The Love Story That Gave Birth to Peter Pan, C.N. Potter, New York, 1979

Seymour Hicks, Twenty-Four Years of an Actor’s Life By Himself, Alston Rivers Ltd., London, 1910

Phyllis Robbins, Maude Adams: An Intimate Portrait, Putnam, New York, 1956

Ellaline Terriss, By Herself and With Others, Cassell & Company, Ltd., London, 1928

Ellaline Terriss, Just a Little Bit of String, Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., London, 1954

H.M. Walbrook, J.M. Barrie and the Theatre, F.V. White and Co. Ltd., London, 1922

J.P. Wearing, The London Stage: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel, 2nd edn, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2014