[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.] Carbon of Typed BBC script of ‘2nd Broadcast’ in the series ‘Theatre Songs and Stories / by / W. Macqueen-Pope’, on the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

From the Macqueen-Pope papers. His entry in the Oxford DNB describes how, in the 1950s, he was ‘in demand as a lecturer on the theatrical subjects he loved, and he appeared often in the same capacity on radio and on television. Ironically he regarded these two forms of public entertainment, and television in particular, as representing a serious threat to the survival of theatre, about which he cared passionately’. The present item relates to the theatre with which he was most closely connected, serving for more than two decades (1935-1956) as press agent there, and even acting as its Air Raid Warden during the Second World War. His book on the place had appeared in 1945. 4pp, 4to. On four leaves of discoloured and heavily-creased cartridge paper. At top left of first page: ‘2nd Broadcast’. Title: ‘Theatre Songs and Stories / by / W. Macqueen-Pope / No. 2. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. / Signature Tune ‘Ma Belle’. Traces the history of music at the theatre, from its foundation in 1663, with reference to Nell Gwynne and Pepys, Garrick’s ‘Heart of Oak’ and Arne’s ‘Rule Britannia’, to Ivor Novello, whose ‘recent tragic death saddened the whole country’. MP, who would produce a biography of his friend Novello at the end of 1951, adds, in the final paragraph: ‘And indeed, Ivor Novello’s life who wrote and composed that song did indeed belong to us. He dedicated it to the public and to the Theatre - and he loved and revered no Theatre more than Drury Lane, for which he did such yeoman service. He has gone, but Drury Lane goes on - musically, too. “Oklahoma” broke every record it ever made, and “Carousel” still runs gaily after a whole year of service.’