St Helena: a play in twelve scenes is a play by the English author RC Sherriff (notable as the author of the First World War drama Journey's End

Journey's End

Journey's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...

) and Jeanne de Casalis

Jeanne de Casalis

Jeanne de Casalis was an African-born British actress of stage, radio, and film.Born in Basutoland as Casalis de Pury, she was educated in France - where her father owned one of the largest corset retailers, Charneaux - and began her career in music before working in London.She appeared on stage...

 (who also researched it). It deals with the exile of Napoleon I

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 on Saint Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

. It premiered at the Old Vic

Old Vic

The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...

 on 4 February 1936 to poor reviews, but was rescued by a letter to The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

by Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

, calling it "a remarkable play" and "a work of art of a very high order", though a West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

transfer also proved unsuccessful.

Sources

• RC Sherriff, No Leading Lady (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1968), pages 297 to 308
• A New Play About Napoleon - The Times, Thursday, Jan 30, 1936; pg. 12;