Our Boys is a comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 in three acts written by Henry James Byron

Henry James Byron

Henry James Byron was a prolific English dramatist, as well as an editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor....

, first performed in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on 16 January 1875 at the Vaudeville Theatre

Vaudeville Theatre

The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...

. Until it was surpassed by the run of Charley's Aunt

Charley's Aunt

Charley's Aunt is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. It broke all historic records for plays of any kind, with an original London run of 1,466 performances....

in the 1890s, it was the world's longest-running play, up to that time, with 1,362 performances until April 1879. Theatre owner David James (1839–93) was Perkyn in the production. The production also toured extensively. The play contains the famous line, "Life’s too short for chess."

The piece played in New York in 1875, at the New Fifth Avenue Theatre, and in 1907 at the Lyric Theatre. It also played in Philadelphia. Arthur Williams

Arthur Williams (actor)

Arthur Williams was an English actor, singer and playwright best remembered for his roles in comic operas, musical burlesques and Edwardian musical comedies...

 appeared in a 1914 London revival of the piece.

Roles

• Sir Geoffrey Champneys (a county magnate) – William Farren Jr.
  William Farren Jr.
  William Farren Jr. was an English actor.He was born in London, the son of actor William Farren , brother of Henry Farren and uncle of Nellie Farren.-References:...
  
  
• Talbot Champneys (his son, a washed-out youth) – Thomas Thorne
  Thomas Thorne
  Thomas Thorne was an English actor and theatre manager. Thomas Thorne was one the founding managers of London's Vaudeville Theatre, along with David James and Henry James Montague, and performed leading roles in many of the productions there. His father was Richard Samuel Thorne, who managed the...
  
  
• Perkyn Middlewick (a retired butterman) – David James
• Charles Middlewick (his aristocratic-looking son) – Charles Warner
• Poddles (Middlewick's butler) – W. Lestocq
• Kempster (Sir Geoffrey's servant) – Mr. Howard
• Violet Melrose (an heiress) – Kate Bishop
  Kate Bishop (actress)
  Kate Bishop was an English actress from Bristol, a member of a theatrical family. Her brother and daughter were also successful actors. Her greatest success was in Our Boys, which ran for more than four years in London...
  
  
• Mary Melrose (her poor cousin) – Amy Roselle
  Amy Roselle
  Amy Roselle was an English actress who performed in Britain, the U.S. and Australia. She specialised in Shakespearean roles but also played parts in contemporary dramas. She married Arthur Dacre, and the two toured together with their own theatre company, eventually traveling to Australia...
  
  
• Clarissa Champneys (Sir Geoffrey's sister, an elderly spinster) – Sophie Larkin
• Belinda (a lodging-house slave) – Cicely Richards

Synopsis

Sir Geoffrey Champneys is very proud of his son, Talbot, an uninspired and weak youth. Mr. Middlewick, a retired butterman, also thinks highly of his son, Charles, an enthusiastic and lively young fellow. They are delighted to welcome their 'boys' home after a three-years' sojourn on the Continent. The Baronet — proud and poor — has determined that his son should marry Violet Melrose, an heiress; but that young lady and Charles Middlewick have already met at Vienna and decided differently (although she was, at first, unhappy with his lowly station). Meanwhile, Talbot is in love with her poor cousin, the free-and-easy Mary. Old Middlewick has taken a great dislike to Violet, whom he considers 'stuck-up,' and he desires his son to wed Mary. Needless to say, Sir Geoffrey is also displeased, and the fathers disown their sons. The latter retire in disgrace to a miserable London rooming house, where they try to earn an independence by writing.

The fathers, after a few months, become so profoundly miserable without their boys that they follow them and find out from Belinda, the 'slavey,' that the sons are at the point of starving. Miss Champneys also arrives with a chicken and other delicacies, and Violet and Mary come to discover if their lovers are still faithful. After a few more misunderstandings, the boys are forgiven and taken back into favour. Miss Champneys has designs on the butterman's hand and heart. Sir Geoffrey gives a speech of understanding.

External links

• List of longest-running plays in London
• Davis, Jim (ed.) Plays by H.J. Byron: The Babes in the Wood; the Lancashire Lass; Our Boys; the Gaiety Gulliver (Cambridge, 1984).
• Information about a lawsuit over the rights to produce the play in New York
• Information about productions at the Vaudeville Theatre