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''An Old Score'' is an 1869 three-act comedy-drama written by English dramatist
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...
based partly on his 1867 short story, ''Diamonds'', and partly on episodes in the lives of
William Dargan
William Dargan (28 February 1799 – 7 February 1867) was arguably the most important Irish engineer of the 19th century and certainly the most important figure in railway construction. Dargan designed and built Ireland's first railway lin ...
, an Irish engineer and railway contractor, and
John Sadleir, a banker who committed suicide. It was written before any of his
Savoy Opera
Savoy opera was a style of comic opera that developed in Victorian England in the late 19th century, with W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan as the original and most successful practitioners. The name is derived from the Savoy Theatre, which impr ...
s with
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
. Despite an encouraging review in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', the piece was a failure. It was revived in 1872 and rewritten as ''Quits'', but it fared no better.
Background
Gilbert described ''An Old Score'' as "my first comedy".
[Crowther, Andrew. Introduction to script o]
"An Old Score"
accessed 10 September 2010 He had previously written more than a dozen stage works, and although they were all intended to be funny, they were in the styles of
burlesques
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. ,
extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ha ...
s,
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
s and one-act
farce
Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...
s, not full-length, character-driven "comedies"; and so the play represents part of Gilbert's move from being a humorist to being a dramatist.
[ Gilbert adapted part of the story of the play from his 1867 short story ''Diamonds''. It is also based partly on episodes in the lives of ]William Dargan
William Dargan (28 February 1799 – 7 February 1867) was arguably the most important Irish engineer of the 19th century and certainly the most important figure in railway construction. Dargan designed and built Ireland's first railway lin ...
, an Irish contractor, and John Sadleir, a banker who committed suicide in 1856.
The play was written before Gilbert had developed his "Topsy-Turvy" satiric style and so shows Gilbert at his most straightforward. Gilbert was a disciple of the playwright T. W. Robertson, who had introduced naturalistic staging and acting to Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
theatre. Robertson's comedies had serious moments, as well as comic, treating their themes with some sentiment and usually conveying a simple moral lesson. Gilbert likewise intended ''An Old Score'' to be partly serious, calling it a "comedy-drama". The play borrows elements from Robertson's ''Ours'' and Tom Taylor
Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...
's ''Still Waters Run Deep''.[ Gilbert had provided another work for ]John Hollingshead
John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...
's Gaiety Theatre in London, ''Robert the Devil
Robert the Devil () is a legend of medieval origin about a Norman knight who discovers he is the son of Satan. His mother, despairing of heaven's aid in order to obtain a son, had asked for help from the devil. Robert's satanic instincts propel h ...
'' (1868), which had opened the theatre.
''An Old Score'' opened at the Gaiety on 26 July 1869. The cast included Rosina Ranoe, who later married F. C. Burnand
Sir Francis Cowley Burnand (29 November 1836 – 21 April 1917), usually known as F. C. Burnand, was an English comic writer and prolific playwright, best known today as the librettist of Arthur Sullivan's opera ''Cox and Box''.
The son of ...
, and Henry Neville, who later produced some of Gilbert's plays.[Ainger, p. 82] Following the Victorian tradition of long evenings in the theatre, ''An Old Score'', which ran for two hours, was second on a triple bill beginning with an operetta and ending with a "new opera bouffe", ''Columbus!, or the Original Pitch in a Merry Key'', by Alfred Thompson. It was not a success, despite encouraging reviews, and closed in late August after about 24 performances. It reopened on 11 November 1872 at the Court Theatre in revised form as ''Quits'' but did not fare much better, running for about 46 performances.[Hollingshead, John. ''My Lifetime'', pp. 19–20, London: Sampson Low, Marston, 1895][Moss, Simon]
"An Old Score"
at ''Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia'', c20th.com, accessed 16 November 2009
''The Times'' wrote that "Generally, the characters are sketched with a firm hand, and the dialogue they utter, though not
especially brilliant, is consistent and to the purpose."John Oxenford
John Oxenford (12 August 1812 – 21 February 1877) was an English dramatist, critic and translator.
Life
Oxenford was born in Camberwell, London, his father a prosperous merchant. Whilst he was privately educated, it is reported that he was m ...
. Review of ''An Old Score'', ''The Times'', 28 July 1869, p. 10 Commenting on its opening night reception by the audience, the paper noted, "An Old Score was followed by every symptom of success, and if its good fortune does not prove permanent it will be because the work is too genuine a comedy to suit the taste of the age."[ When Gilbert originally proposed the play to Hollingshead, the manager of the Gaiety Theatre, the latter was impressed by its "clever dialogue". After its failure, however, Hollingshead opined that the piece had "one great and only fault: It was 'too clever by half.' It was too true to nature – disagreeable nature. It was not served up with enough make-believe sauce." Hollingshead noted that, in the play, a son argues with his father. This was unacceptable to audiences in 1869.][ Gilbert expert Andrew Crowther writes that, although the play has faults, "we can judge ''An Old Score'' to be a genuinely powerful drama. There are scenes in this play which are so powerful that they knock the reader back in his seat. There is a "shooting-from-the-hip" quality about some of the scenes which is exhilarating and even just a little bit shocking."][ It may be, also, that the play was too intimate for the huge stage of the ''Gaiety''.
The play was published in 1869 by ]Samuel French Ltd.
Samuel French, Inc. is an American company, founded by Samuel French and Thomas Hailes Lacy, who formed a partnership to combine their existing interests in London and New York City. It publishes Play (theatre), plays, represents authors, and se ...
, in 1870 by Thomas Hailes Lacy
Thomas Hailes Lacy (1809 – 1 August 1873) was a British actor, playwright, theatrical manager, bookseller, and theatrical publisher.
Life
Lacy made his West End stage debut in 1828 but soon turned manager, a position he held from 1841 at The ...
and again in 1877 by Samuel French Ltd.Sir William Schwenk Gilbert
at Books and Writers website, accessed 1 November 2009
Roles and original cast
* Colonel Calthorpe – Samuel Emery
* Harold Calthorpe (his son) – John Clayton
* James Casby (a Bombay merchant) – Henry Neville
* Parkle (an attorney) – Mr. Maclean
* Manasseh (a bill discounter
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
comic Jewish money lender – J. Eldred
* Flathers (a footman, afterwards Harold's clerk) – J. Robins
* Ethel Barrington (Colonel Calthorpe's niece) – Miss Henrade
* Mary Waters (a nursery governess) – Rosina Ranoe
* Mrs. Pike (a Gray's Inn laundress) – Mrs. Leigh
Synopsis
;Act I
Ethel Barrington, the niece of Colonel Calthorpe, is engaged to be married to James Casby, an honest and successful merchant from Bombay. The Colonel, formerly a man of means, had paid for Casby's schooling and helped him find his first job, and so the Colonel believes that Casby owes him a large debt a gratitude. The Colonel is angry that Casby, while acknowledging the Colonel's help, has not agreed to give him the money to pay his now-substantial debts (although Casby cryptically states that he will satisfy the debt in another way). Ethel, however, is in love with her cousin Harold Calthorpe, who lives an extravagant lifestyle. Harold, in turn, loves Mary Waters, a nursery governess. He leaves his father's house because Mary is cruelly dismissed from her post and vows to marry her.
;Act II
In Harold's chambers, Mary and Harold are not yet married. He is well paid for writing scandalous articles for ''The Tormenter'', a journal, but he is morally disturbed by doing this and turns to drink. Casby and Ethel ask him to return home to his father, but Harold refuses. Colonel Calthorpe then arrives in good spirits, having just inherited some money and a title from a relative, Lord Ovington. He offers to forgive Harold, but Harold still loves Mary and confronts his father with his disreputable action towards her. He refuses to return home.
;Act III
Since the Colonel is now the new Lord Ovington, Casby is no longer an eligible match for his niece, Ethel. The Colonel encourages Casby to break off the engagement, which does not bother Ethel much, since she still loves Harold and never loved Casby. Harold has gone missing, and Mary arrives looking for him. Mary and Ethel find some common ground in this misfortune and strike up a friendship. Casby now aims to settle his old score with Lord Ovington and goes to see him. He notes that Ovington's acts in helping him as a youth were entirely self-interested, because Ovington needed to do so to reverse his previous reputation for cruelty while in the army. By taking this apparently philanthropic action, Ovington had won the hand of a wealthy lady. Nevertheless, Casby is indeed grateful for the help. He reveals some notes on which Ovington had forged Casby's name as guarantor to several loans: Casby has now paid these on Ovington's behalf and further notes that he will not expose Ovington as a forger and has therefore freed Ovington from the threat of prison. So, they are now even (as Casby says, they are "quits"). Ethel, concealed, sees this interview, which makes her love Casby and forget her feelings for Harold, who has now been found and who can now marry Mary.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
''An Old Score''
at the Gilbert and Sullivan Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Score
Plays by W. S. Gilbert
1869 plays