Young England (play)

Young England was a patriotic melodrama written by Walter Reynolds. It ran for 278 performances in the West End in 1934.[1] The play attracted a cult following, transferring from the Victoria Palace Theatre to the Kingsway Theatre and then to Daly's Theatre.[2]

Reynolds was 83 at the time he wrote Young England, and was the owner of several theatres. It was popular with audiences due to its unintentional humour.[3] The show was panned by critics; TIME magazine wrote that they had described it as "the worst show that had opened in London in 20 years".[4] The Times described the play as a "pretty melodrama" that was "betrayed by shame-faced acting" in a September 1934 review, but by March of the following year noted that the "audience are definitely over-rehearsed" speaking the performers lines in "anticipation of their cues".[2]

The plot concerns the machinations of Major Carlingford, a 'betrayer of women, shady promoter and sanctimonious humbug' who conspires with his son to sabotage the plans of a young scoutmaster, parliamentary candidate and councillor who wants to improve the River Thames at Charing Cross.[5] The humorous writer Stephen Pile described it as a 'serious work describing the triumph of good over evil and the Boy Scout movement'.[5]

Stephen Pile included it as the 'Worst West End Play' in his Book of Heroic Failure.[5]

In a December 1939 article TIME magazine wrote that "London's bright boys just had to see what the worst show in 20 years looked like. They screamed with laughter at its superpatriotic goings-on, involving gallant officers, dastardly villains, prostitutes, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, taints of illegitimacy, stolen papers, stolen cash, the Union Jack".[4] Reynolds would remonstrate with misbehaving members of the audience during performances of the play.[5]

  1. ^ Simon Trussler (21 September 2000). The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre. Cambridge University Press. pp. 298–. ISBN 978-0-521-79430-5. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b J. P. Wearing (15 May 2014). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 381–. ISBN 978-0-8108-9304-7.
  3. ^ Jonathan Law (16 December 2013). The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre. A&C Black. pp. 554–. ISBN 978-1-4081-3148-0.
  4. ^ a b "The Theatre: Wrong Door, Wrong Door". TIME. 25 December 1939. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Stephen Pile (4 October 2012). The Not Terribly Good Book of Heroic Failures: An intrepid selection from the original volumes. Faber & Faber. pp. 108–. ISBN 978-0-571-27734-6.