In Good King Charles's Golden Days
Encyclopedia
In Good King Charles's Golden Days is a play by George Bernard Shaw
, subtitled A True History that Never Happened.
It was written in 1938-39 as an "educational history film" for film director Gabriel Pascal
in the aftermath of Pygmalion
s cinema triumph. The cast of the proposed film were to be sumptuously clothed in 17th century costumes, far beyond the resources of most theatre managements. However, by the time of its completion in May 1939, it had turned into a Shavian Restoration comedy.
The title of the play is taken from the first line of the traditional song "The Vicar of Bray
".
('Mr Rowley'), Isaac Newton
, George Fox
and the artist Godfrey Kneller
, with interventions by three of the king's mistresses (Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
; Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
; and Nell Gwynn) and his queen, Catherine of Braganza
.
Cast:
Ayliff's production first transferred to the Streatham Hill Theatre on 15 April 1940, then to the New Theatre
in London on 9 May 1940.
James Agate
, writing for The Sunday Times
, noted that the play was the best to have "come from the Shavian loom since Methuselah
".
The first North American production was on 24 January 1957 at the Downtown Theater on New York's East 4th Street, where it ran for nearly two years, one of the longest runs of any Shaw play in the USA (as noted by Lawrence Langner
).
A BBC production, starring Sir John Gielgud
as King Charles, was broadcast in February 1970.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, subtitled A True History that Never Happened.
It was written in 1938-39 as an "educational history film" for film director Gabriel Pascal
Gabriel Pascal
Gabriel Pascal was a Hungarian film producer and director.Born 1894 in Arad, Austria-Hungary , Pascal was the first film producer to bring the plays of George Bernard Shaw successfully to the screen. His most famous production was Pygmalion, for which Pascal himself received an Academy Award...
in the aftermath of Pygmalion
Pygmalion (1938 film)
Pygmalion is a 1938 British film based on the George Bernard Shaw play of the same title, and adapted by him for the screen. It stars Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller....
s cinema triumph. The cast of the proposed film were to be sumptuously clothed in 17th century costumes, far beyond the resources of most theatre managements. However, by the time of its completion in May 1939, it had turned into a Shavian Restoration comedy.
The title of the play is taken from the first line of the traditional song "The Vicar of Bray
The Vicar of Bray (song)
"The Vicar of Bray" is a satirical songrecounting the career of the Vicar of Bray and his contortions of principle in order to retain his ecclesiastic office despite the changes in the Established Church through the course of several English monarchs...
".
Plot
A discussion play, the issues of nature, power and leadership are debated between King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
('Mr Rowley'), Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
, George Fox
George Fox
George Fox was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends.The son of a Leicestershire weaver, Fox lived in a time of great social upheaval and war...
and the artist Godfrey Kneller
Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to British monarchs from Charles II to George I...
, with interventions by three of the king's mistresses (Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland
Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland was an English courtesan and perhaps the most notorious of the many mistresses of King Charles II of England, by whom she had five children, all of which were acknowledged and subsequently ennobled...
; Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth
Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth was a mistress of Charles II of England. Through her son by Charles II, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, she is ancestress of both wives of The Prince of Wales: the late Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as The Duchess of...
; and Nell Gwynn) and his queen, Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza was a Portuguese infanta and queen consort of England, Scotland and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II.She married the king in 1662...
.
Original production
Billed as 'A history lesson in three scenes by Bernard Shaw', the first production was at the Malvern Festival Theatre on 12 August 1939, directed by H K Ayliff and designed by Paul Shelving.Cast:
- Mrs Basham: Isobel Thornton
- Sally: Betty MarsdenBetty MarsdenBetty Marsden was an English comedy actress.Originally from Liverpool, she attended the Italia Conti Stage School and ENSA.In the radio series Beyond Our Ken, she played Fanny Haddock, a takeoff of Fanny Cradock...
- Isaac Newton: Cecil Trouncer
- George Fox: Herbert LomasHerbert Lomas (actor)Herbet Lomas was a British actor who appeared in more than forty films in a career lasting between 1931 and 1955. He was born in Burnley, Lancashire in 1887 and made his first screen appearance in the 1931 film Hobson's Choice.-Filmography:...
- Mr Rowley (King Charles II): Ernest ThesigerErnest ThesigerErnest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is best known for his performance as Dr...
- Nell Gwynn: Eileen BeldonEileen BeldonEileen Beldon was an English stage and film actress. She had a successful career as a Shakespearean actress as well as in modern repertory theatre.- Biography :...
- Barbara Villiers, 1st Duchess of Cleveland; Daphne HeardDaphne HeardDaphne Heard was an English actress. She was born in Plymouth, Devon.She had a long and distinguished career on the stage, especially in classical roles, but was perhaps best known to the general public in latter years as "Mrs...
- Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth: Ina de la Haye
- James, Duke of York: William Hutchison
- Godfrey Kneller: Alec ClunesAlec ClunesAlexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
- Queen Catherine of Braganza: Violet VanbrughViolet VanbrughViolet Vanbrugh was an English actress who had a career spanning more than 50 years. Despite her many successes, her career was overshadowed by that of her more famous sister Irene Vanbrugh...
Ayliff's production first transferred to the Streatham Hill Theatre on 15 April 1940, then to the New Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
in London on 9 May 1940.
James Agate
James Agate
James Evershed Agate was a British diarist and critic. In the period between the wars, he was one of Britain's most influential theatre critics...
, writing for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, noted that the play was the best to have "come from the Shavian loom since Methuselah
Back to Methuselah
Back to Methuselah , by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 , The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D...
".
Revivals
Ernest Thesiger, who again played 'Mr Rowley', revived the play at the Malvern Festival on 11 August 1949. It was also revived at the Malvern Festival Theatre in 1983.The first North American production was on 24 January 1957 at the Downtown Theater on New York's East 4th Street, where it ran for nearly two years, one of the longest runs of any Shaw play in the USA (as noted by Lawrence Langner
Lawrence Langner
Lawrence Langner the Great was a playwright, author, and producer.Born near Swansea, South Wales and working most of his life in the United States, he started his career as one of the founders of the Washington Square Players troupe in 1914.In 1919 he founded the Theatre Guild, where he supervised...
).
A BBC production, starring Sir John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as King Charles, was broadcast in February 1970.