The Home Secretary is a four-act play by R. C. Carton, first produced in 1895 in the West End of London.

Production

The play was first given at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

, London, under the actor-manager Charles Wyndham. It opened on 7 May 1895 and ran for 72 performances until 20 July.Wearing, p. 475

Original cast

*The Right Hon Duncan Trendel MP – Charles Wyndham *Sir James Haylett, QC, MP – Alfred Bishop *Lord Blayver – David S. James *Frank Trendel – Sydney Brough *Captain Chesnall –

Charles Brookfield Charles Hallam Elton Brookfield (19 May 1857 – 20 October 1913) was a British actor, author, playwright and journalist, including for '' The Saturday Review''. His most famous work for the theatre was '' The Belle of Mayfair'' (1906). Brookfie ...

*Mr Thorpe-Didsbury MP – Herman de Lange *Rixon – H. Deane *Morris Lecaile –

Lewis Waller William Waller Lewis (3 November 1860 – 1 November 1915), known on stage as Lewis Waller, was an English actor and theatre manager, well known on the London stage and in the English provinces. After early stage experience with J. L. Toole's a ...

*Rhoda Trendel –

Julia Neilson Julia Emilie Neilson (12 June 1868 – 27 May 1957) was an English actress best known for her numerous performances as Lady Blakeney in ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', for her roles in many tragedies and historical romances, and for her portrayal of ...

*Lady Clotilda Bramerton – Dolores Drummond *Esme Bramerton –

Maude Millett Ethel Maude Millett (8 November 1867 – 16 February 1920) was a British actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her roles in drawing room comedies. She created roles in plays by Arthur Wing Pinero, Oscar Wilde and J. M. Bar ...

*Mrs Thorpe-Didsbury – Mary Moore

Revivals

The play was revived on 21 October 1895 at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was ...

Fred Terry Fred Terry (9 November 1863 – 17 April 1933) was an English actor and theatrical manager. After establishing his reputation in London and in the provinces for a decade, he joined the company of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree where he remained for f ...

took over the role of Trendel,

Lottie Venne Lottie Venne (28 May 1852 – 16 July 1928) was a British comedian, actress and singer of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, who enjoyed a theatre career spanning five decades. Venne began her stage career in musical burlesque before moving into ...

played Mrs Thorpe-Didsbury, and Brough, Brookfield, Waller, Neilson and Millett reprised their original roles. The run ended on 13 November, after 21 performances. The piece was staged on

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 ...

in November 1895, starring Herbert Kelcey and

Isabel Irving Isabel Irving (February 28, 1871 –September 1, 1944) was an American stage actress. Irving made her London debut at the Lyceum Theatre in 1890 as Daisy in ''Nancy and Company''. In 1894, she signed a three-year contract with the manager o ...

as the Trendels and J. K. Hackett as Lecaile."New Theatrical Bills", ''The New York Times'', 26 November 1895, p. 5

Plot

Trendel and his wife, Rhoda, have drifted apart: she is disillusioned by his change from idealist to party careerist and cabinet minister. She is attracted to Lecaile, who is in fact a dangerous anarchist whose real name, well known to the police, is Dangerfield. He is betrayed by a colleague, and resorts to burglary of Trendel's house to recover an incriminating document. Unknown to him, Rhoda is asleep in an armchair in the room he is searching. She wakes and confronts him. Trendel discovers the two together and jumps to the conclusion that they are carrying on behind his back. To save her reputation, Dangerfield admits his identity and his reason for being in the house. Trendel, touched by Dangerfield's gallant conduct, allows him to depart, but having let an anarchist go, he feels obliged to write to the prime minister resigning his office. Rhoda, moved by this evidence of humanity and scruple on her husband's part, is reconciled with him. The main plot is interwoven with the romance of Trendel's nephew (and secretary) and the ''ingénue'' Esme in the face of her family's attempts to marry her off to an elderly peer. The action includes the comings of goings of friends and colleagues of varying degrees of eccentricity."The London Theatres", ''The Era'', 11 May 1895, p. 9

Critical reception

'' The Era'' thought the characters well written, and the dialogue "smart, unforced and up to date", but found the action slow until the final act. ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' praised the author's skill in balancing the comic, the tender, and briefly near-tragic elements of the piece. '' The Standard'' thought the dialogue neatly written, but "the action moves very slowly"."Criterion Theatre", ''The Standard'', 8 May 1895, p. 3 When the piece was staged on Broadway, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' found it fluently written, with "a moderate infusion of wit" and serviceable characterisation and plot.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Home Secretary, The 1895 plays British plays