These are some of the plays that the drama club at P.S.H.S. presented in their first decade of the school being open. Looking at the plays gives some insights into the time period, the types of plays that they offered, as well as educational standards at the time. The drama club was exceedingly popular, so there was a constant stream of plays being produced, but these were some that gave the most insight or had pertinent information about them. Although these plays reflect the social and cultural attitudes of the time (racist slurs, misogynistic tendencies, etc.), they did not generally reflect upon the war. The drama club was a place for individuals to go escape from the hubbub of the war, and there were large plays in the auditorium at P.S.H.S. for the whole school to come to. The collective attitude and mindset of the day appeared to be to leave the war out of the drama club, as the war was at the forefront of everything else.

This play was written in 1916 by Lord Dunsany. This play features a trope of characters who are enjoying a night at a local inn. The night takes a dark turn during their poker game, and they end up murdering three priests who come upon their game and stole all the gems and rubies that the priests had. The priests who they murdered were all black, and the main characters made several racist comments and slurs throughout the play, and the congratulate each other on murdering the last black priest by saying “a good days work my friends” and “well done my friend [in regards to the knife wound inflicted on the priest]” [1]. It is startling that a play this dark and racist was considered a comedy at the time, and was presented as such by high school students.

This play was a one act comedy written by Alice Brown in 1929. It featured two women quarreling and reminiscing about the Tiverton Home in which they reside. They are fighting over everything in the house, and they end up splitting the room in half using chalk. Overall, it was a tame play that featured two old ladies fighting for its duration [2].

This play is also a short one act play that features the Bell family and their antics within their household. This adventure takes place during the summer and features the Bell family in their living room. There was very little information on the play available, so this all the information that is presently available [3]. This play was such a hit, it was presented in 1943-44 as well.

This play was written by Alfred Sutro, and was published in New York in 1922. It was a mystery play that featured Sir Geoffrey and Lady Torminster. The entire play is done in one act, but is a goofy mystery between Sir Geoffrey and Lady Torminster, and they are trying to solve each other’s true identities [4].

References

[1] Lord Dunsay, A Night at an Inn, The Sunwise Turn Inc, 1916.

[2] Alice Brown, The Joint Owners of Spain, Walter H. Baker Company, 1926.

[3] Mary Elizabeth Gale, Not Quite Such A Goose, Walter H. Baker Company, 1925.

[4] Alfred Sutro, The Opening of a Door, New York: Brentrano, 1922.