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'The story is one of a pretty daughter, her lover, and a drunken and cruel father. The girl runs away and marries her lover, but then meets with adversities at the hands of an arch villain, with the result that the couple are separated, and driven to distraction the girl contemplates suicide by throwing herself into the Thames. The villain throws the mother's body into the river, and just in time the husband and wife are again united' (The Evening Star (Boulder, WA: 1898-1921), 24 November 1914, p.2).
A publicity blurb published in the Weston Champion (Parkes, New South Wales) in 1912 describes Why Girls Leave Home as 'full of thrilling situations, interspersed with plenty of comedy' (8 March 1912, p.14).
Notes
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The March 1912 season at Bathurst is the first recorded Australian production identified to date. It is possible that Howarde staged the play in Sydney earlier in the year during her lease of the National Theatre, Balmain.
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According to reports published in several regional New South Wales newspapers in 1912, Howarde had previously staged the play "the phenomenal success" during her time in America and Great Britain (See for example, Forbes Advocate 12 March 1912, p.2; and Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate 15 March 1912, p.4).
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According to the Glen Innes Examiner, 'Miss Howarde is recognised to have the strongest dramatic company travelling the Commonwealth, and she has secured several of the latest London and American dramatic successes' (18 April 1912, p.4). In the same article, the play was called 'one of the greatest dramatic successes ever known ... full of strong incidents and abounds in comedy'.
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'A rumor has reached [Miss Howarde] that the name of her play (of which she is sole owner and holds the Australian copyright) has been pirated and used on the rivers. If this be the case the public are emphatically informed that though the title may have been used, or rather misused, the play itself will be absolutely new' (Northern Star (Lismore, NSW: 1876-1954), 1 May 1918, p.4).
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'It is the intention of Miss Howarde to produce the most successful and popular melo-drama in her extensive repertoire, a repertoire that enabled this company to play a continuous season of eighteen months in Sydney' (The Northam Advertiser (WA: 1895-1918; 1948-1955), 9 December 1914, p.2).
Production Details
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1912: School of Arts, Bathurst (New South Wales); 9-12 March.
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1912: Town Hall, Forbes (New South Wales); 15-16 March.
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1912: Protestant Hall, Dubbo (New South Wales); 19-20 March.
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1912: Masonic Hall, Cobar (New South Wales); 23-29 March.
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1912: Australian Hall, Orange (New South Wales); 4 April.
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1912: Town Hall, Mudgee (New South Wales); 8-10 April.
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1912: Scone (New South Wales); opening night - 13 April.
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1912: Theatre Royal, Tamworth (New South Wales); 16 April.
- Music: Reginald Cleary.
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1912: Town Hall, Glen Innes (New South Wales); 22-23 April.
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1912: Guyra Oddfellows' Hall, Guyra (New South Wales); 26 April.
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1914: Tivoli Theatre, Kalgoorlie (Western Australia); 21-27 November.
- Cast: Fred Nielson (Jack Charteris), Lesley Howarde (Nell Lancett), William Goodall (Mark Thorndon), Hector Vernor ("drunken father"), Elton Black (Billy), Grace Doran (Mary Ann), James Hyde, Phillip Delcourt, Will B. Wright, Madge Surtees, Fred Dunraven.
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1914: Palace Theatre, Boulder (Western Australia); 10 December.
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1914: King's Theatre, Fremantle (Western Australia); 12-14 December.
- Director: Duncan Neven.
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1915: Empire Theatre (Victoria); 16-22 January.
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1916: Armidale (New South Wales); 25 March.
- Entertainment during Carnival Week.
- Cast: Elton Black, Newton Carroll.
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1918: Majestic Theatre, Newtown (New South Wales); season ending 12 April.
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1918: Federal Hall, Lismore (New South Wales); May.
- Cast: Elton Black, Ethel Bashford, George Hewlett, Leonard Stephens, Len Buderick, Stephen Fitzgerald, Reg. Hall, Beatrice Esmond, Maude Edwards, Bertha Beaumont, Vivian Langley.
- 'The specially painted scenery is from the Whaite studios' (Northern Star, 1 May 1918, p.4).
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1918: (Queensland); 11 June.
- Cast: Elton Black, Ethel Bashford.
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1918: Pavilion Theatre, Seymour (Victoria); commencing Show Night.
- Cast: Elton Black, Leslie Adrienne.
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1922: Majestic Theatre, Brisbane (Queensland); 8 August.
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1922: Theatre de Luxe, Clayfield, Brisbane (Queensland); 24 August.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Kate Howard Co. "Why Girls Leave Home"
i
"The rain on Saturday evening militated against a crowded audience at the Tivoli Theatre, but those who attended to witness the production of "Why Girls Leave Home," by the talented Kate Howarde Company, spent a highly enjoyable evening.",
1914
single work
— Appears in: The Evening Star , 24 November vol. 17 no. 2439 1914; (p. 2)
— Review of Why Girls Leave Home : A Drama in Four Acts 1912 single work drama
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Kate Howard Co. "Why Girls Leave Home"
i
"The rain on Saturday evening militated against a crowded audience at the Tivoli Theatre, but those who attended to witness the production of "Why Girls Leave Home," by the talented Kate Howarde Company, spent a highly enjoyable evening.",
1914
single work
— Appears in: The Evening Star , 24 November vol. 17 no. 2439 1914; (p. 2)
— Review of Why Girls Leave Home : A Drama in Four Acts 1912 single work drama
