[W. Macqueen-Pope, theatre historian and broadcaster, and Drury Lane press agent.] Fifteen Typed Newspaper Articles [for the magazine 'Everybody's'] giving weekly news of 'The London Theatre', with newspaper cuttings, TLS from editor Greville Poke.

From the Macqueen-Pope papers. See his entry in the Oxford DNB. Known by his nickname ‘Popie’, Macqueen-Pope was widely regarded as the leading theatre historian of his day. His many books (from histories of individual theatres to a biography of Ivor Novello) sold well, and his broadcasts on the BBC were extremely popular. Eighteen items, providing something a glimpse of his working methods. The last two of the eighteen items are TLsS to MP: one from the editor of ‘Everybody's’ Greville Poke (also see his Oxford DNB entry), and the other Pauline Carter, ‘EDITORIAL’. The cuttings attached to twelve of the fifteen articles presumably retained for possible future use. MP’s articles comprise a total of 69pp, 4to, of typed text, with more than one hundred newspaper cuttings. Sixteen of the items are typed articles (including two drafts of one) titled ‘The London Theatre / by / W. Macqueen-Pope’. The first of these dates from 1948; the next three (including two drafts of the same article) from 1951, and the other twelve from 1957. Item Two is nine pages long, the other fifteen articles are each four pages long. Items Three and Four are drafts of the same article. Items Five to Sixteen are a run of twelve articles from January to March 1957, with each one of the twelve attached by paper clips to cuttings of contemporary newspaper articles from a range of sources relating both to theatre news. These cuttings, numbering considerably more than 100, are undated and unattributed, but clearly from a wide range of sources, and presumably dating from the period of the article by MP to which they are attached. MP’s fifteen articles are in good condition, lightly aged and creased; the cuttings are in fair condition, on brittle high-acidity paper, but with some loss by flaking to some. ONE (‘w/e 25th December 1948’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The world of the Theatre, being quite crazy and topsy-turvey, is always busiest when other people make holiday. So, according to tradition, this week, which includes Christmas, has been one of feverish activity. The Christmas shows have been opening like flowers in the spring and it is day and night work to keep up with them.’ TWO (undated, but from the context shortly after 7 November 1951): 9pp, 4to. One autograph sentence added to first paragraph, and a handful of autograph emendations thereafter. Begins: ‘Once again the period I have to cover is devoid of the big sparkling productions or what the managements hope will be the big spa[r]kling production[s] which will draw crowds into the Theatre - after the first night - and make the box offices busy. [next sentence in autograph] There is only one solitary instance. It falls to my lot to explore mostly the private and outlying theatres and see what they have to offer. They are not to be despi[sed] by any means, for quite a few of the plays produced at such places come to the West End. As a case in point, a play titled “Women in Twilight” has just done so - migrating from the heights of Hampstead, on which stands the local Embassy Theatre - to the Vaudeville Theatre, in the Strand.’ (It opened there on 7 November 1951.) THREE (‘w/e 8th December 1951’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘For many years this country, said to be most unmusical, could only claim one Opera - and that not very Grand - which was at all tenacious of lie, that work being Balfe’s ‘The Bohemian Girl’. But now it can claim another - the work of a compose whose name also begins with B, and is Britten. For his latest work, ‘Billy Budd’ - surely one of the most homely titles an opera ever had - has been produced and acclaimed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.’ A passage on the last page deleted with overtyped crosses would appear to indicate that this is an earlier draft of Item Three. FOUR (‘w/e 8th December 1951’): 4pp, 4to. Later draft of Item Two. FIVE (‘w/e 12 January 195[7]’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘Twelfth Night has come and gone - celebrated as usual at Theatre Royal Drury Lane by the cutting of the Baddeley Cake, the bequest of the old actor who started as a pastry cook - and so the real spirit of Christmas - once so gay and carefree - is over for another twelve months.’ SIX (‘w/e 19 January 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The most important event in the world of the Theatre at the moment is the news that The Sadler’s Wells Ballet - together with the Sadler’s Wells Threatre Ballet and its School - has become, under a Charter now granted by Her Majesty The Queen - The Royal Ballet.’ SEVEN (‘w/e 26 January 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The production season has started at last and in the forefront is The Old Vic, who have kicked off with “Two Gentlemen of Verona”.’ EIGHT (‘w/e 2 February 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘In order to see new plays it has again been necessary to travel - to Salisbury, the ancient city down in Wiltshire and to Oxford - and the offering at Oxford can hardl’y be called new because it was the “Medea”.’ NINE (‘w/e 9 February 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, gave us one of those evenings now very rare, and becoming rarer, in our operatic entertainment. The occasion was the prouction of Bellini’s “Norma”.’ TEN (‘w/e 16 February 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘There is nothing doing in London which is new at all, although one hears rumours of events to come. It is the fag end, and a rough fag end, of the winter season and spring is not yet in sight.’ ELEVEN (‘w/e 23 February 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘Once again the argument has broken out in London’s Theatreland as to the iniquity of an audience - always referred to as “The Gods” - in expressing vocal disapproval towards a play which they dont like. This is because a musical entertainment - yet that word is not right and on cannot call it a play - offered to playgoers at the Saville Theatre aroused not only wrath but open derision.’ TWELVE (‘w/e 2 March 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The immense power which America exerts over the British stage was proved by the production of a new play at the Savoy Theatre, called “Subway to the Sky”. It is written by Ian Main, who has never been to America in his life.’ THIRTEEN (‘w/e 9 March 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘The Old Vic has presented that play of Shakespeare’s which always gives difficulty but which is so tremendously rich in the beauty of words - “Antony and Cleopatra”. FOURTEEN (‘w/e 16 March 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘William Douglas Home is easily one of the best and certainly one of the most successful of our younger dramatists.’ FIFTEEN (‘w/e 23 March 1957’): 4pp, 4to. ‘London has much to thank Mme Edwige Feuillere for at the moment. When our own stage is in the doldrums of understatement and acting which is so quiet and softly spoken as to be frequently entirely inaudible, she has come to show us that the Theatre can be, as it used to be and always should be - exciting.’ SIXTEEN (‘w/e 30 March 1957’): 4pp, 4to. Begins: ‘“Damn Yankees”, the latest American musical to invade London, has opened at the London Coliseum, which has, in respect of its productions, become an annex of Broadway.’ The last two items are on ‘Everybody’s’ letterheads. SEVENTEEN (23 May 1950): TLS to MP from Pauline Carter (‘EDITOR’). ‘I enclose the proof of your Theatre page. This has to go down by mid-day, so perhaps you would be so good as to telephone us your corrections?’ EIGHTEEN (12 July 1950): TLS to MP from ‘Greville’ (the magazine’s editor). 1p, 4to. ‘Thanks for sending along your weekly Reuter’s feature - I shall be reading this in a day or two; beneath a pile of mail and manuscripts as a result of my absence.’ Postscript refers to Francis Rowe.