''Vice Versa: A Lesson to Fathers'' is a play by

Edward Rose Edward Rose (7 August 1849 – 31 December 1904) was an English playwright, best known for his adaptations of novels for the stage, mainly ''The Prisoner of Zenda''. He was also the theatre critic for ''The Sunday Times''. Biography Edward Ros ...

that adapted the 1882 novel of the same name by

Thomas Anstey Guthrie Thomas Anstey Guthrie (8 August 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English author (writing as F. Anstey), most noted for his comic novel ''Vice Versa'' about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was confirmed b ...

. The play debuted at the

Gaiety Theatre, London The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the former site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it became known a ...

on 9 April 1883. The story is about a

body swap A body swap (also named mind swap or soul swap or brain swap) is a storytelling device seen in a variety of science and supernatural fiction, in which two people (or beings) exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. In media such as televi ...

between a father and son. Rose played the son in the debut production; Charles Hawtrey played the father. Guthrie authorized Rose's adaptation, but later decided to write his own stage version of the story, which debuted in 1910.

Plot

Mr. Bultitude, a middle-aged man with a school-aged son named Dick, has unknowingly come into possession of the "

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

stone", a magical object that grants its holder one wish. When Dick complains about school, Bultitude expresses a wish that he could be young again and take his son's place. The stone fulfills the wish by causing the two to swap bodies. Although Bultitude wants to swap back, Dick is pleased to be an adult and wishes for his body-swapped father to be sent off to

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

. Bultitude's middle-aged habits are out of place at school, and he is surprised by romantic attention from Dulcie Grimstone, the schoolmaster's daughter. When Dulcie learns about the swap, she obtains the stone and wishes for them to be swapped back.

Cast and characters

The characters and cast from the Gaiety Theatre production are given below:

Reception

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' described the production at the Gaiety as "thoroughly successful, very funny, and well played all around", with the exception of some overacting by Rose. When the play moved to the

Royal Strand Theatre The Royal Strand Theatre was located in the Strand in the City of Westminster. The theatre was built on the site of a panorama in 1832, and in 1882 was rebuilt by the prolific theatre architect Charles J. Phipps. It was demolished in 1905 to ...

, '' The Academy'' said the story was better handled as a play than it was as a novel and said it was well handled, especially in the second act. '' The Athenaeum'' said the story was difficult to adapt for the stage, and the result was "diverting" but sometimes hard to follow. ''The Theatre'' said the play was "cleverly done", but "did not wholly succeed". In his reviews of the plays of 1883, drama critic Austin Brereton said the adaptation was "rather cleverly done", but the story was "unsatisfactory as a play". ''

The Oxford Magazine ''The Oxford Magazine'' is a review magazine and newspaper published in Oxford, England.''The Oxford Magazi ...

'' praised an 1886 production in that city, especially the acting of Agnes Verity in the role of Dulcie.

References

External links

* {{Theatricalia , 9ab , Vice Versa 1883 plays English-language plays Plays based on novels British fantasy works Fantasy theatre