''While Parents Sleep'' is a

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endin ...

by the British writer

Anthony Kimmins Anthony Martin Kimmins, OBE (10 November 1901 – 19 May 1964) was an English director, playwright, screenwriter, producer and actor. Biography Kimmins was born in Harrow, London on 10 November 1901, the son of the social activists Charles Wi ...

, which was first staged in 1932. It ran for 492 performances during its initial West End run, first at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

and then transferring to the

Garrick Garrick may refer to: * Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name, the most famous being: ** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor * Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David ...

. The original cast included

Nigel Playfair Sir Nigel Ross Playfair (1 July 1874 – 19 August 1934) was an English actor and director, known particularly as actor-manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in the 1920s. After acting as an amateur while practising as a lawyer, he turne ...

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mil ...

and

Diana Beaumont Diana Beaumont (8 May 1909 – 21 June 1964) was a British actress. In 1932 she starred in the West End run of the hit comedy ''While Parents Sleep'' by Anthony Kimmins, while in 1934 she appeared in Ian Hay's '' Admirals All''. Selected fil ...

. It was revived again in 1933 for a further 315 performances. Its 1934

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 ...

run was much shorter, lasting for only 16 performances at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

Synopsis

Two brothers invited their girlfriends over to their house, causing immense disruption to the lives of their parents.

Film Adaptation

In 1935 the play served as the basis of the film ''

While Parents Sleep ''While Parents Sleep'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Adrian Brunel and starring Jean Gillie, Enid Stamp Taylor and Romilly Lunge. The film is a screen adaptation of a 1932 play of the same name by Anthony Kimmins, which had been ...

'' directed by

Adrian Brunel Adrian Brunel (4 September 1892 – 18 February 1958) was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s. His surviving work from the 1920s, ...

and starring

Jean Gillie A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

and

Enid Stamp Taylor Enid Georgiana Stamp Taylor (12 June 1904 – 13 January 1946) was an English actress. Her childhood home was 17, Percy Avenue, in Whitley Bay, Northumberland, in what is now Tyne and Wear. Taylor first became known when she won a beauty pa ...

References

Bibliography

* Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

External links

* 1932 plays Plays set in England British plays adapted into films {{1930s-play-stub