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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Penelope [...], who plans to elope with that strongly suspected member of Victorian society— an actor [...] — engages the assistance of a romantic middle aged spinster, Miss Battarbee [...]. The lovers are brought together as a result of the actor's audacity in posing as the newly-installed vicar, after capturing the reverend gentleman and borrowing his clothes. Then Miss Battarbee gains the reward of her kindness, recognising in the vicar her former sweetheart, from whom she had been separated by her parents.'
Source:
'One-act Plays: Entertainment in North Perth', West Australian, 22 June 1934, p.16.
Notes
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Described by contemporary newspapers as 'a play in verse and costume'.
Production Details
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The action of Penelope's Elopement is set in a garden, and the play appears to have been designed with a view to outdoor performance.
The earliest performance traced so far is in late December – early January 1931: the exact dates are not given, but the Playwriter Theatre were due to arrive in Flinders sometime after 29 December 1931, and, during the 'few days' in which they stayed in the area, were to give a performance of Penelope's Elopement in the gardens of 'Palafia', the home of a Mrs Sproule. (See 'Social Notes', Argus, 16 December 1931, p.15.)
The same troupe also gave a performance of the play in the gardens at 'Bolobek', in Macedon, Victoria, in early February 1932. (See 'Party at "Bolobek" Macedon', Table Talk, 4 February 1932, p.39.)
The play was performed in Perth theatres in mid-1933.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
- 1800-1899
