Hindle Wakes (play)

Last updated

Hindle Wakes is a stage play by Stanley Houghton written in 1910. It was first performed in 1912. [1]

Contents

Plot

The play is set in the fictional mill town of Hindle in Lancashire in England, and concerns two young persons, Fanny Hawthorn and Alan Jeffcote, who are discovered to be having illicit sex during the town's wakes week. Class is a major plot point in the play; Fanny is a mill-hand in the factory owned by Alan's father and their respective fathers once worked together before Mr Jeffcote senior rose to owning a mill, while Mr Hawthorn continued as a mill worker.

After initial reluctance on the part of Mr Jeffcote senior, and the outright opposition of his wife (who suspects Fanny of being a gold-digger), the families pressure the couple to get married. Greatly to the surprise of everyone (including Alan) Fanny refuses. She makes it clear that she regarded the dalliance with Alan as "a bit of fun" and considers him a poor choice for a husband. She is disowned by her people but expresses confidence that her skills as a weaver will allow her to support herself in the future. [2] [3]

Performances

Emelie Polini as Fanny Hawthorn in the Broadway production of Hindle Wakes (1912) Emelie-Polini-Hindle-Wakes.jpg
Emélie Polini as Fanny Hawthorn in the Broadway production of Hindle Wakes (1912)

It was first performed in 1912 by Annie Horniman's Gaiety Theatre company, originally in Manchester and then in London and on Broadway. The character Fanny Hawthorn was played by Edyth Goodall in the original production. It was a controversial piece at the time it was first produced, and provoked a prolonged correspondence in the Pall Mall Gazette in which both the author, Stanley Houghton, and the original actress participated, with many correspondents questioning whether the play's treatment of non-marital sex would set a bad example. The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford placed all the theatres performing it out of bounds to students. [4]

It was the play in performance at the Royal Exchange Theatre during the 1996 Manchester bombing and the play with which the theatre reopened in December 1998 after almost two-and-a-half years of repair works following the bomb damage. Both productions were directed by Helena Kaut-Howson with Ewan Hooper as Mr Jeffcote, Sue Johnston as Mrs Jeffcote, Colin Prockter as Mr Hawthorn, Nicholas Gleaves as Alan Jeffcote and Sophie Stanton as Fanny Hawthorn. The production won a MEN Award.

The 100th anniversary of Stanley Houghton's Hindle Wakes was marked in 2012. In September 2012, the first London revival in over 30 years took place at Finborough Theatre (Earls Court) from the 11th to the 29th.

It has been filmed four times, twice in the silent era (1918, 1927), and twice in the sound era (1931, 1952) although the film versions have tended to open out the play considerably.

The 1931 film starred Belle Chrystal as the mill girl and John Stuart as the employer's son, with Sybil Thorndike, Edmund Gwenn and Norman McKinnel. Parts of it were filmed in Blackpool.

A version of it featured in the series Laurence Olivier Presents (1976), starring Judi Bowker, Donald Pleasence, Trevor Eve and co-directed by Laurence Olivier and June Howson.

Mint Theater Company produced it in New York City in 2018. [5] This production was nominated for a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Play. [6] [7] This was the first time it has been produced in the United States in 95 years. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repertory theatre</span> Theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire

A repertory theatre, also called repertory,rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.

Sir Trevor Robert Nunn is a British theatre director. He has been the artistic director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal Haymarket. He has directed dramas for the stage, like Macbeth, as well as opera and musicals, such as Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Horniman</span> English theatre patron and manager

Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman CH was an English theatre patron and manager. She established the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and founded the first regional repertory theatre company in Britain at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester. She encouraged the work of new writers and playwrights, including W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and members of what became known as the Manchester School of dramatists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Exchange, Manchester</span> Building in Manchester, England

The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Royal Exchange Shopping Centre.

Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded a doctorate of Literature, Honoris Causa, in June 2013 by the University College Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allan Monkhouse</span>

Allan Noble Monkhouse was an English playwright, critic, essayist and novelist.

Laurence Olivier Presents is a British television anthology series made by Granada Television which ran from 1976 to 1978.

The American Clock is a play by Arthur Miller. The play is about 1930s America during The Great Depression. It is based in part on Studs Terkel's Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression.

William Stanley Houghton was an English playwright. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Harold Brighouse, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists. His best known play is Hindle Wakes which was written in 1910 and performed in 1912.

<i>The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby</i> (play)

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an 8½ hour-long adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1839 novel, performed in two parts. Part 1 was 4 hours in length with one interval of 15 minutes. Part 2 was 4½ hours in length with two intervals of 12 minutes. It was originally presented onstage over two evenings, or in its entirety from early afternoon with a dinner break. Later it was presented on television over four evenings.

Harold Brighouse was an English playwright and author whose best known play is Hobson's Choice. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Stanley Houghton, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists.

Ewan Hooper is a Scottish actor who is a graduate from, and now an Associate Member of, RADA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaiety Theatre, Manchester</span>

The Gaiety Theatre, Manchester was a theatre in Manchester, England. It opened in 1884 and was demolished in 1959. It replaced a previous Gaiety Theatre on the site that had been destroyed by fire.

Nicholas Gleaves is an English actor and playwright.

<i>Hindle Wakes</i> (1927 film) 1927 film by Maurice Elvey

Hindle Wakes is a 1927 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Estelle Brody and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, and reunites Brody and Stuart following their hugely popular pairing in the previous year's Mademoiselle from Armentieres. The film was also released under the title Fanny Hawthorne.

<i>Hindle Wakes</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Hindle Wakes is a 1931 British drama film directed by Victor Saville for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Belle Chrystall and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, which had previously been filmed twice as a silent in 1918 and 1927. Saville had been the producer on the highly regarded 1927 version directed by Maurice Elvey. Both Stuart and Norman McKinnel returned in 1931 to reprise their roles from the 1927 film.

Hindle Wakes is a 1918 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Colette O'Niel and Hayford Hobbs. It is the first of four screen versions of the celebrated and controversial 1912 play by Stanley Houghton. It which was a sensation in its time for its daring assertions that a woman could enjoy a sexual fling just as much as a man, without feeling any guilt or obligation to explain herself, and that she was perfectly capable of making her own life decisions without interference from family or the need to bow to social pressures.

<i>Hindle Wakes</i> (1952 film) 1952 film by Arthur Crabtree

Hindle Wakes is a 1952 British drama film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Lisa Daniely, Brian Worth, Leslie Dwyer and Sandra Dorne. The film was the fourth and last screen adaptation of the famous Stanley Houghton play of the 1910s, dealing with a young woman engaging in a holiday sexual flirtation, regardless of the disapproval of her parents or wider society.

Sir Michael Victor Codron is a British theatre producer, known for his productions of the early work of Harold Pinter, Christopher Hampton, David Hare, Simon Gray and Tom Stoppard. He has been honoured with a Laurence Olivier Award for Lifetime Achievement, and is a stakeholder and director of the Aldwych Theatre in the West End, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mint Theater Company</span>

Mint Theater Company was founded in 1992 in New York City. Their mission is to find, produce, and advocate for "worthwhile plays from the past that have been lost or forgotten". They have been instrumental in restoring the theatrical legacy of several playwrights notably; Teresa Deevy, Rachel Crothers, and Miles Malleson. As well as producing less produced or forgotten works by noted playwrights such as A. A. Milne, Lillian Hellman, and J. M. Barrie. They have also produced frequently ignored theatrical works by noted authors such as Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, and Leo Tolstoy.

References

  1. "Hindle Wakes". minttheater.org.
  2. Collins-Hughes, Laura (19 January 2018). "Review: In 'Hindle Wakes,' Should a Fling Lead Straight to the Altar?". The New York Times.
  3. Teachout, Terry (1 February 2018). "'Hindle Wakes' Review: A Forgotten Playwright, Freshly Minted". Wall Street Journal.
  4. Pogson: Miss Horniman and the Gaiety Theatre Manchester. Rockliff Publishing Corporation Ltd (1952)
  5. 1 2 Clement, Olivia. "Mint Theater to Stage Rare Revival of Hindle Wakes". Playbill.com. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  6. "2018 Awards – Drama Desk". DramaDesk.org. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. Millard, Tom. "Drama Desk Awards 2018 - And the Nominees are..." NewYorkTheaterGuide.com. Retrieved 1 April 2021.