book list
This is the programme for the 11th annual Welwyn Drama Festival which was held at the Welwyn Theatre (which was a Shipman & King cinema in Parkway, Welwyn Garden City) between May 15th and 20th in 1939. There were 23 plays (4 per night with 3 on the final night which was a Saturday) competing for the Welwyn Drama Cup plus 7 guineas prize money for first place. Chairman of the Welwyn Festival Association was F. J. Osborn, and other organisers were R. Brewer, P.E.H. Chambers, A.J. Smith, W.H. Washington, F. Herbert, C.L. Hinton, L.T.M. Gray, Alex Reeve, Mrs Humphrey Toulmin, James Parnaby and Frances Brewer. The adjudicator was Michael Macowan. The front cover of the programme is by Stanley Herbert.
The programme gives the cast list for each of the 23 plays which were:
Watford Repertory Company: "The Pretty Toys" by F. Sladen
Smith.
Welwyn Thalians: "The Man Who Was Ready" by Richard Carol.
The Harlequins Club (London): "The Dark Lady of the Sonnets"
by George Bernard Shaw.
"Q" Players (Hertford): "Carrion-Crow" by Leonard
J. Hines and Frank King.
Welwyn Garden City Girl Guides: "Tobias and The Angel" Act
2 Scene 1 by James Bridie.
The Charity Players (Harrow): "Sordid Story" by J.A.S. Coppard.
Stanley Gardens Dramatic Society (London): "Allison's Lad"
by B.M. Dix.
Unity Theatre (London): "Plant in the Sun" by Ben Bengal.
Letchworth Drama Club: "One Evening at Nero's" by A.J. Talbot.
Welwyn Drama Club: "Puppet Show" by Sydney Box.
The Marylebone Dramatic Society: "The Fortieth Man" by Freda
Collins.
Brook Green Players (Hammersmith): "The Gods at Rest" by
Frank Carpenter.
The Settlement Players (Letchworth): "Solomon's Folly" by
Sydney Box.
Rodney Dramatic Club: "Bring Me my Bow" by Sydney Box.
Welwyn Stores Staff Association: "9 10-Late" by Dorothy Carr.
Harpenden Group of The British Drama League: "White Queen, Red Queen"
by T.B. Morris.
Bedford Dramatic Club: "Hands Across The Sea" by Noel Coward.
Beckenham Stagers: "Vassals Departing" by Stuart Ready.
The Company of Ten (St Albans): "The Sword is Double-Edged"
by Arthur H. Swinson.
The Londoners: "Her Affairs in Order" by Mada Gage Bolton.
Guild of Abbey Players (Abingdon): "Foreign Body" by Geoffrey
Trease.
Leslie Barefoot Players (Ipswich): "The Hands of Hardouin"
by Jean Sartène.
Welwyn Folk Players: "The Time is Not Ripe" by D Hart-Davidson.
Below are three pages of the advertisements carried by the programme.
(click on the image for a better view)
I think the lady in the Studio Lisa ad is Dinah Sheridan.
BBC Television began broadcasting in 1936, was suspended on the outbreak of war in 1939, and resumed in 1948.
(click on the image for a better view)