The Rat (play)

Last updated

The Rat is a play by the British writers Ivor Novello and Constance Collier which first premiered in 1924. [1] It ran for 282 performances in its original West End run, initially at the Prince of Wales Theatre before transferring to the Garrick Theatre. [2] Novello himself starred as the title character, an Apache dancer who frequents Paris nightclubs. The cast also included James Lindsay and Isabel Jeans. On Broadway it enjoyed a run of 126 performances at the Colonial Theatre.

The play's success led to a film adaptation The Rat , released the following year by Gainsborough Pictures with Novello again in the title role. This in turn was followed by two sequels The Triumph of the Rat and The Return of the Rat . [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivor Novello</span> Welsh composer and actor (1893–1951)

Ivor Novello was a Welsh actor, dramatist, singer and composer who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St James's Theatre</span> Former theatre in City of Westminster, London, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince of Wales Theatre</span> West End theatre in London, England

The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre should not be confused with the former Scala Theatre in London that was known as the Prince of Wales Royal Theatre or Prince of Wales's Theatre from 1865 until its demolition in 1903.

<i>Downhill</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

Downhill is a 1927 British silent drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ivor Novello, Robin Irvine and Isabel Jeans, and based on the play Down Hill by Novello and Constance Collier. The film was produced by Gainsborough Pictures at their Islington studios. Downhill was Hitchcock's fourth film as director, but the fifth to be released. Its American alternative title was When Boys Leave Home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Andrews (actor)</span> English actor

Robert Tobias Andrews was a British stage and film actor. He is perhaps best known as the long-term companion of Ivor Novello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Benson (actor)</span> English actor and theatre manager (1858–1939)

Sir Francis Robert Benson was an English actor-manager. He founded his own company in 1883 and produced all but two of Shakespeare's plays. His thirty-year association with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre and the annual Shakespeare Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon laid down foundations for the creation of the Royal Shakespeare Company after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constance Collier</span> British actress (1878–1955)

Constance Collier was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insulin in Europe.

<i>The Rat Pack: Live from Las Vegas</i>

The Rat Pack - Live From Las Vegas is a stage musical produced by Flying Music Group Ltd. The stage show was conceived and created by Mitch Sebastian, who was also the show's director and choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Alexander (actor)</span> English actor (1858–1918)

Sir George Alexander, born George Alexander Gibb Samson, was an English stage actor, theatre producer and theatre manager. After acting on stage as an amateur he turned professional in 1879 and, over the next eleven years, he gained experience with leading producers and actor-managers, including Tom Robertson, Henry Irving and Madge and W. H. Kendal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novello Theatre</span> Theatre in London

The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005.

The Rat may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Dare</span> English actress and singer (1890–1975)

Phyllis Dare was an English singer and actress, famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre in the first half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zena Dare</span> English actress and singer (1887–1975)

Zena Dare was an English singer and actress who was famous for her performances in Edwardian musical comedy and other musical theatre and comedic plays in the first half of the 20th century.

<i>The Rat</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

The Rat is a 1925 British silent film drama, directed by Graham Cutts and starring Ivor Novello, Mae Marsh and Isabel Jeans. The film is based on the 1924 play of the same title written by Novello and Constance Collier, set in the Parisian criminal underworld. The film's louche settings and melodramatic storyline proved popular with audiences, and its success spawned two sequels, The Triumph of the Rat (1926) and The Return of the Rat (1929).

<i>The Triumph of the Rat</i> 1926 film by Graham Cutts

The Triumph of the Rat is a 1926 British silent film drama, directed by Graham Cutts for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Ivor Novello, Isabel Jeans and Nina Vanna.

<i>Peter Ibbetson</i> (play) Play by John N. Raphael

Peter Ibbetson is a play based on George du Maurier's 1891 novel of the same name. It debuted in the United States in 1917.

Fresh Fields is a comedy play by the British writer Ivor Novello, first staged in 1933. Its West End run lasted for 465 performances at the Criterion Theatre between 5 January 1933 and 17 February 1934. The original cast included Robert Andrews, Fred Groves, Lilian Braithwaite, Minnie Rayner and Martita Hunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austen Hurgon</span> Actor, singer, and theatre director (1867–1942)

Austen Hurgon was an actor, singer, theatre director and librettist for several successful Edwardian musical comedies of the 1900s and 1910s.

<i>Our Betters</i> (play) 1917 play by Somerset Maugham

Our Betters is a comedy play by the British writer Somerset Maugham. Set in Mayfair and a country house in Suffolk, the plot revolves around the interaction between newly wealthy Americans and upper-class British society.

Kathleen Saintsbury was a British actress from the 1920s to the 1970s but who is best known today for playing Cissy Godfrey in the BBC comedy Dad's Army.

References

  1. 1 2 Gale, Maggie B. (14 June 2018). Collier, Constance [real name Laura Constance Hardie; married name Boyle] (1878–1955), actress. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.67797.
  2. Wearing p.303

Bibliography