[W. J. Macqueen-Pope, theatre historian.] 27 items: fifteen Typed Scripts of BBC broadcasts, including eleven concerning different London theatres, five earlier drafts, three sets of music lists and two letters to MP from BBC producer Mary Treadgold.

The material collected here is perhaps unique: it is not clear whether any material relating to Macqueen-Pope’s BBC broadcasts has survived elsewhere. It is hard to overestimate the significance of ‘Popie’ to the history of the London stage. Other items from among his papers offered seperately attest to the regard in which he was held by both actors and those behind the scenes, as the foremost chronicler of a cherished era that was quickly passing into oblivion. 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’. A total of twenty-seven items; comprising 15 BBC radio scripts by MP, with an additional five earlier drafts of some of them, together with two TLsS to MP from Mary Treadgold of the BBC Overseas Service, two carbons of notes from MP to Treadgold, and three typed music lists by MP for the particular broadcasts. Fifteen of the items (Five and Seven to Twenty), comprising eleven scripts and earlier drafts of four of them, are from a series of ‘Theatre Songs and Stories by W. Macqueen-Pope’, broadcast on the BBC Overseas Service in 1951. (The other scripts would appear to have been broadcast on the same channel at the same time.) Apart from Item Six, which is worn and chipped but with text complete, the material is in good overall condition, with the inevitable slight aging and wear, and with slight rust-staining from paperclips. All items in 4to except for Five and Six, which are foolscap 8vo, and a total of 131pp. Items Thirteen and Eighteen incomplete; the other twenty-five items complete. ONE and TWO: Two drafts of ‘Half a Century of Musical Comedy / Script and Narration by W. Macqueen-Pope’, both headed ‘Broadcast’. Both 16pp. Undated, but from 1951, as states that 1894 was ‘57 years ago’. The second, a black ink carbon, incorporates the typed emendations in the first, a blue-ink carbon. THREE. ‘Bring Back Harlequin’. Dated 27 December 1951 and headed ‘Broadcast’. 7pp, with pencil emendations. FOUR: ‘Music From the Theatre by W. Macqueen-Pope.’ Headed ‘Broadcast’. 4pp. FIVE. ‘Theatre Songs and Stories by W. Macqueen-Pope’, concerning ‘The Gaiety Theatre, London’. In top right-hand corner of first page: ‘(Rough specimen of Broadcast).’ 5pp, foolscap 8vo. SIX. ‘1 Memories of Olympia by W. Macqueen-Pope.’ 4pp, foolscap 8vo. (Items Seven to Twenty are all headed ‘Theatre Songs and Stories by W. Macqueen-Pope.’ with ‘Broadcast’ at top left of first page.) SEVEN and EIGHT. Two drafts of ‘No. 2. Theatre Royal, Drury Lane’. Both headed ‘2nd Broadcast’. The earlier, 4pp; the later, also 4pp, with ‘Broadcast’ at head of first page by MP in pencil, and carrying a couple of pencil emendations. Both drafts refer to the recent death of Ivor Novello, the first describing him as ‘an immortal’ whose ‘music will be played so long as there remains a British audience to listen to it’. NINE and TEN. Two drafts of ‘The Adelphi Theatre’. The earlier, 8pp, with additional leaf carrying typed note headed ‘Broadcast Inset after ‘Nymph Errant’; the later, 5pp, abridged and rewritten, but incorporating the ‘Inset’. (Regarding ‘The Quaker Girl’ MP writes: ‘A wonderful show for the wonderful nights of a wonderful period. That first night on 5th November 1910 was a triumph for all concerning and sitting in the stalls with his bride and applauding as enthusiastically as anyone was a young politician named Winston Churchill...’) ELEVEN. ‘The Alhambra. Leicester Square.’ 4pp. Pencil emendation. TWELVE and THIRTEEN. ‘Daly’s Theatre’. 4pp; with first page only of later draft, with minor pencil emendations. FOURTEEN. ‘The Holborn Empire’. Dated 21 November 1951. 5pp. FIFTEEN and SIXTEEN. Two drafts of ‘The Palace Theatre’. The earlier, 8pp, with a few emendations in pen; the later, 5pp, incorporating the emendations and with pencil addition. SEVENTEEN and EIGHTEEN. Two drafts of ‘The London Coliseum’. The earlier, of 4pp, with an addition in pencil; the later, lacking p.3 of 4pp, incorporating the addition. NINETEEN. ‘The Oxford Music Hall’. 4pp, with addition in pencil. TWENTY. ‘His Majesty’s Theatre.’ Dated 21 November 1951. 4pp. TWENTY-ONE and TWENTY-TWO. Two sets of music lists. The first of 6pp, with the pages headed: ‘Adelphi Music’, ‘Palace Theatre Music - in place of London Pavilion’, ‘Savoy Music’, ‘Daly’s Music’, ‘Alhambra’ and ‘Music for Drury Lane’; the second, 3pp, with pencil emendations, the pages headed: ‘Adelphi’, ‘Palace’ and ‘Adelphi’ (followed by ‘Palace’). TWENTY-THREE. Music list accompanying Item Four (‘Music from the Theatre’), headed ‘Tunes for 2nd Broadcast’, with entries ticked in pencil. TWENTY-FOUR and TWENTY-FIVE. Two TLsS from Mary Treadgold, Talks Producer, General Overseas Service, to MP. Each on BBC (200 Oxford Street) letterhead. The first, 21 June 1951, 2pp, giving ‘the Music List for Daly’s; the second, 20 September 1951, 2pp, giving a long list of ‘the music - with comments - for both the Coliseum and the Oxford. The programme for the Oxford is being broadcast fairly soon so it is really essential now that we get these two scripts recorded pretty quickly.’ Checked in pencil with autograph notes by MP. TWENTY-SIX and TWENTY-SEVEN. Carbons of TNsS from MP to Treadgold, 26 June and 2 August 1951. Each 1p. The first with carbon copy of MP’s signature. In the first he suggests that ‘we use the Merry Widow as the signature tune rather than the Dollar Princess. The Widow was Daly’s most outstanding play.’ The second presents ‘the Adelphi and Palace scripts. The Adelphi is a bit “talk-ey” but we cannot help it. The stories have the merit of being good ones.’