''Escape'' is a play in nine episodes by the British writer

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...

. The world premiere was on August 12, 1926 at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End, produced by

Leon M. Lion Leon Marks Lion (12 March 1879 – 28 March 1947) was an English stage and film actor, playwright, theatrical director and producer. He starred in Joseph Jefferson Farjeon's 1925 hit play '' Number 17'' as well as its subsequent 1932 film adaptat ...

. The play ran until March of the following year, when it went on tour of England with

Gerald Ames Gerald Ames (12 September 1880 – 2 July 1933) was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath, London in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905. He was a popular leading man in the post-First World War cinema ...

in the lead role. Subsequently, the play transferred to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

where it was produced and staged by

Winthrop Ames Winthrop Ames (November 25, 1870 – November 3, 1937) was an American theatre director and producer, playwright and screenwriter. For three decades at the beginning of the 20th century, Ames was an important force on Broadway, whose repertoir ...

(no relation of Gerald Ames). The American production ran for 173 performances from 26 October 1927 to March 1928 at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the Italian Renaissance ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was included in

Burns Mantle Robert Burns Mantle (December 23, 1873February 9, 1948) was an American theater critic. He founded the ''Best Plays'' annual publication in 1920.Chansky, Dorothy (2011)"Burns Mantle and the American Theatregoing Public" in ''Theatre History Stu ...

's ''The Best Plays of 1927–1928''. The play was made into a film in 1930.

Plot

Former

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

British Army Captain Matt Denant protects a poor prostitute from an over-persistent plainclothes police detective. In a scuffle Denant hits the officer who as a result falls, striking his head, and dies. Denant gets sentenced to

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor. The prison is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is operated by ...

for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

and escapes from a work detail. The plot is a series of episodes where Denant meets people who will either abet or obstruct his escape thus becoming a study in class structure and

ethos Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...

according to Galsworthy's interpretation of 1920s British society.

Cast of UK Premiere in order of appearance

* Nicholas Hannen as Captain Matt Denant *

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

as girl of the town * Charles Koop as plainclothes man and the Dartmoor constable * Harold Lester as the policeman * Cyril Hardingham as the other policeman and the labourer *

as the fellow convict, old gentleman * Gerard Clifton as the warder, the captain * Stafford Hilliard as the other warder, the man in

plus fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated with sporting attire sinc ...

and the bellringer * Dorothy Batley as the shingled lady *

Phyllis Konstam Phyllis Esther Kohnstamm (14 April 1907 – 20 August 1976), known as Phyllis Konstam, was an English film actress born in London. She appeared in 12 films between 1928 and 1964, including four directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Life Phyllis Est ...

as the maid and the wife of man in plus fours * Paul Gill as the shopkeeper and the farmer * Ethel Manning as wife of the shopkeeper * Ann Codrington as sister of the shopkeeper and Miss Grace *

Betty Astell Betty Astell (23 May 1912 – 26 July 2005), born Betty Julia Hymans, was an English actress, best known for comedy and pantomime productions on stage, screen, and radio with her husband, Cyril Fletcher. She was one of the first performers t ...

as the little girl *

Margaret Halstan Margaret Halstan (25 December 1879 – 8 January 1967) was a British stage, radio, television and film actress. In theatre and film roles she often played upper-class ladies of the gentry, with a career spanning over six decades. She was particula ...

as Miss Dora *

Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West End in 1926 an ...

as the parson (also in NYC cast)

Cast of US Premiere in order of appearance

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

as Captain Matt Denant * Henrietta Goodwin as girl of the town * Edgar B. Kent as plainclothes man, the other warder and the Dartmoor constable * A. B. I. Imeson, the policeman and the warder * F. Cecil Butler as the other policeman and the other laborer * St. Clair Bayfield as the captain and the laborer *

Laurence Hanray Laurence Hanray ( Lawrence Henry Jacobs; 16 May 1874 – 28 November 1947), sometimes credited as Lawrence Hanray, was a British film and theatre actor born in London, England. He is also credited as the author of several plays and music hall s ...

as the fellow convict, the old gentleman and the farmer *

Frieda Inescort Frieda Inescort (born Frieda Wrightman, 29 June 1901 – 26 February 1976) was a Scottish-born actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noël Coward's play ''Hay Fever'' on Broadway. She also played the shingled lady in Joh ...

as the shingled lady * Geraldine Kay as little girl * Lois Heatherley as Miss Grace * Renee Macredy as Miss Dora * Cyrena Smith as the maid * Alan Trotter as the man in

Plus fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated with sporting attire sinc ...

and the bellringer *

Viva Tattersall Viva Tattersall (1898–1989) was the stage name of British stage and film actress, playwright and sculptor, Vera Tattersall, who settled in the United States. Early life Tattersall was one of five girls born in London to Hugh Tattersall, a se ...

as wife of man in Plus fours * J. P. Wilson as shopkeeper * Lily Kerr as wife of shopkeeper * Ruth Vivian as sister of shopkeeper *

as the parson (also in UK cast)

Adaptations

''Escape'' was adapted for the 1930 film ''

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...

'', and remade in 1948. A radio adaptation of play was broadcast in two parts August 15 and August 22, 1937, on the ''

Columbia Workshop ''Columbia Workshop'' was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47. Irving Reis The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and devel ...

''. Orson Welles starred as Captain Matt Denant. The play was adapted for the October 15, 1939, episode of the

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

series '' The Campbell Playhouse''. The cast included

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

(Matt Denant),

Wendy Barrie Wendy Barrie (born Marguerite Wendy Jenkins; 18 April 1912 – 2 February 1978) was a British-American film and television actress. Early life Barrie was born in London to English parents. Her father, Francis Charles John Graigoe Jenkin KC ...

(Lady in the hotel), Ray Collins (Murdered cop, Forgiving Judge, Unforgiving Farmer), Jack Smart (another Cop, Farmhand),

Edgar Barrier Edgar Barrier (March 4, 1907 – June 20, 1964) was an American actor who appeared on radio, stage, and screen. In the 1930s he was a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre and was one of several actors who played Simon Templar on ''The Saint'' ...

(Priest and Cabbie), Bea Benaderet (Girl in park, Woman at picnic), Harriet Kay (Maid), Mabel Albertson (Bessie) and

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

(Man at picnic).''Orson Welles on the Air: The Radio Years.'' New York: The Museum of Broadcasting, catalogue for exhibition October 28–December 3, 1988.

References

*
Great War fiction - Escape

External links

* Full text of
Escape
' at the Internet Archive * {{DEFAULTSORT:Escape (play) Plays by John Galsworthy 1926 plays Plays set in England Plays set in London British plays adapted into films West End plays