''Chains'' is a play by the English playwright Elizabeth Baker. It was first performed in April 1909 by the Play Actors Subscription Society at the Court Theatre. The play explores the lives of the

lower middle class In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle ...

who filled up the clerical posts of the office world in

Edwardian England The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

. The Wilsons are a young couple who live in the suburbs of London. Charley is a clerk in the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, while Lily is a homemaker. In order to make ends meet, they take in lodgers. Fred Tenant, their present lodger, has decided to abandon his clerical career and emigrate to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with what meagre savings he has in order to seek a new life. Charley, who finds life in England narrow and constraining, also wishes to leave. His desire is given added impetus as his company, going through difficult times, has reduced his wages. Practically everyone ridicules Fred Tenant for throwing up a 'good situation', and Charley finds himself alone in his desire to emigrate. His wife, his in-laws, his friends all oppose his wish; only his feisty sister-in-law Maggie can see what grinds him down and supports him. In the end, Fred leaves but Charley fails to do the same as his wife Lily has fallen pregnant. Charley abandons thoughts of Australia, accepts his fate with great bitterness and returns to his clerical job. The play was Elizabeth Baker's first performed full-length play and was performed just once at the Court Theatre. It was staged the following year at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

and included

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

and

Lewis Casson Sir Lewis Thomas Casson MC (26 October 187516 May 1969) was an English actor and theatre director, and the husband of actress Dame Sybil Thorndike.Devlin, DianaCasson, Sir Lewis Thomas (1875–1969) ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biograph ...

in the cast. It was subsequently produced in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. ''Chains'' was produced for television by

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

as ''Ticket for Tomorrow'' in November 1959. In 2007, the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

which specializes in rediscovering long-forgotten classics revived ''Chains''. The cast included Justin Avoth (Charley),

Amy Noble Amy is a female given name, sometimes short for Amanda, Amelia (name), Amelia, Amélie (given name), Amélie, or Amita (disambiguation), Amita. In French language, French, the name is spelled ''"Aimée"''. People A–E * Amy Acker (born 1976), ...

(Lily), Ashley George (Fred) and

Octavia Walters Octavia may refer to: People * Octavia the Elder (before 66 – after 29 BC), elder half sister of Octavia the Younger and Augustus/Octavian * Octavia the Younger (c.66–11 BC), sister of Augustus, younger half sister of Octavia the Elder and fou ...

(Maggie). It was directed by

Auriol Smith Auriol Smith is an English actress and theatre director. She was a founder member and associate director of the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London. She co-founded the theatre in 1971 with her husband Sam Walters, who became the United Kingdo ...

. ''Chains'' played to packed houses and received praise from theatre critics for its minutely-observed realism, for its focus on a little-discussed segment of society, and also for its relationship to the concerns of its present audience. In 2022

Mint Theater Company Mint Theater Company was founded in 1992 in New York City. Their mission is to find, produce, and advocate for "worthwhile plays from the past that have been lost or forgotten". They have been instrumental in restoring the theatrical legacy of sev ...

produced ''Chains'' as the second full production in their "Meet Miss Baker" series which aims to reintroduce Elizabeth Baker to "bring new attention to this long forgotten, much deserving author." Wall Street Journal critic, Charles Isherwood, praised the production and play as "a gleaming gem, both engrossing and supremely well-acted. What’s more, this 1909 drama about restlessness affecting middle-class men—and women—in Edwardian England proves to have a timely edge."

References

External links

Michael Billington's review in the Guardian''

Dominic Cavendish's review in the ''Telegraph''

Review in the ''Stage''
1909 plays English plays {{1900s-play-stub