''London Calling'' is a comedy play in three acts, written by
Geoffrey Kerr, produced by
John Golden
John Lionel Golden (June 27, 1874 – June 17, 1955) was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for " Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films. ...
, and directed by Dan Jarratt. The play was first performed at
Little Theatre,
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, on October 18, 1930. The star of the original production was British-born
thespian St. Clair Bayfield. Geoffrey Kerr had previously performed in ''The Stork'' (1925) and also wrote short stories on the side for ''
Vanity Fair'' magazine.
Plot
The comedy centres on two brothers Willie and George Craft, whose American mother and British father long have been divorced. Willie Craft has been raised in America by his mother, George by his father in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England. When George appears for a surprise visit to
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, he and Willie soon fall for a designing woman, Anne Hunter. Their mother decides she is not suitable and prevents her from seeing them, and in the process tries reconciling with their father.
['']Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' Review 27th October 193
/ref>
Scene synopsis
Mrs. Craft's apartment on Park Avenue (Manhattan), Park Avenue and George Craft's furnished apartment on East 49th Street.
Original production
Cast and characters
* St. Clair Bayfield - Straight
* Emma Bunting - Mary Dayton
*Helen Flint - Anne Hunter
*Penelope Hubbard - Jenny Fall
* Geoffrey Kerr - George Craft
*Charles Lawrence - Willie Craft
*Edward Leiter - Carl Merodini
*Anne Sutherland - Mrs. Craft
*Graham Velsey - Chauncey Knayling
*Dallas Welford - Blewes
* Walter Wilson - Henry Dayton
Notes
External links
* {{IBDB show, 5518, London Calling
Broadway plays
Comedy plays
1930 plays
Plays set in New York City