Season 1915 .sx The war was already taking away many of the best young actors ( the Benson Company , for instance , went to a man of those eligible ) , but in the spring of 1915 it was still possible to book an attractive season , opening with The Man Who Stayed at Home ( the first definitely " war play " presented at the Royal ) , with George Tully and Mary Merrall in the leads .sx Then followed the first English production of Seven Days , by the Americans Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood .sx A fine cast included Lottie Venne , Lennox Pawle , Marie Hemingway , Auriol Lee , and Athene Seyler .sx Lewis Waller , who must have regarded the Theatre Royal as a home from home , returned with Evelyn D'Alroy in The Three Musketeers,' after which the Midland Musical and Dramatic Society revived Veronique , in aid of the Red Cross and Blue Cross Funds .sx J. Randall Cook was the musical director , and the leading players were Edith Ryland ( Agatha ) , Alfred Butler ( Florestan ) , Beth Costello ( Comtesse de Champ Azur ) , George Worrall ( Coquenard ) , Harry Preedy and Toni Hudson .sx Easter brought back A Royal Divorce , with Agnes Verity as Josephine , Barbara Gott as Marie Louise , and Tripp Edgar as Napoleon .sx The season was further distinguished by the first English production of Wild Thyme , adapted from the French by George Egerton .sx In this dainty light comedy Ellaline Terriss was an exquisite heroine , and Seymour Hicks showed how capable he could be in serious vein .sx Sam Sothern and Mary Rorke were with them .sx April 19th , 1915 , was a red-letter day in Theatre Royal history , for it saw the twice-nightly system adopted as part of Philip Rodway's regular policy .sx He inaugurated his first long season on these lines with The Land .sx of Promise ( Evelyn .sx Ormonde as Nora ) , which was played without a single cut .sx Prices were brought within the most modest reach , and the system of booking the pit stalls on the day of performance was launched .sx The results fully justified his boldness in being a pioneer of the twice-nightly scheme among first-class provincial theatre managers .sx In the 1915 list we find such varied plays as :sx Diplomacy , Brewster's Millions ( in which Percy Hutchison played Brewster ) , Oh , I Say !sx ( with dapper Frederic Bentley , Ida Stratham , and Ian Fleming ) , The Younger Generation ( with the uncle's habitat tactfully moved from Hamburg to Amsterdam , and that since-regular visitor , William Daunt , cropping up for probably the first time ) , Broadway Jones ( with Seymour Hicks and Rita Jolivet ) , Officer 666 ( another starring role for Percy Hutchison ) , The Speckled Band , and The Marriage of Kitty ( with Norman V. Norman and Beatrice Wilson ) .sx The fruits of wise control were exhibited at the annual meeting in June , when the accounts again showed a profit .sx Weeks had naturally had to be filled at short notice , but the results achieved , in these circumstances , were admirable .sx P.R. was congratulated by the Board for what had been accomplished in emergencies , when they compared the sound position of the Royal with the state of all the London theatres .sx In the longest oration he had yet delivered on such an occasion , P.R. expressed his conviction that twice-nightly attractions were what the public wanted .sx Brevity and inexpensive prices were the key-notes of the method , and the attendances had proved that the step was sound .sx In the past there had been only small support for what was known as the West End after-dinner play , when given once nightly , whereas plays of exactly similar calibre had seen excellent business under the new system .sx " As a result , " he declared , " I believe we shall be able to present many plays which it would not have paid us to book under the old conditions .sx Without losing any of its regular .sx patrons , the theatre is tapping an entirely new source .sx I believe , moreover , that our step may cause dramatists to write plays from the definite viewpoint of their performance twice-nightly .sx Of course , many of the plays written for stars are not capable of compression into the shortened time , and such plays we shall present once-nightly .sx " Other first-class theatres are following our lead , which will naturally make it easier to arrange twice-nightly seasons .sx I see in the innovation the possibility of abolishing , or at least reducing , the summer vacation when normal times return .sx " This was an important point , for at all times the question .sx that inevitably confronted local theatrical management was .sx " the great summer difficulty .sx " Close the theatre for the .sx summer months , and " dead charges " were eating its head .sx off ; keep it open , and there would be poor houses , with a full .sx staff plus dead charges still to be reckoned with .sx Lawrence .sx Levy observed in his book of Theatrical Reminiscences that " the adoption of the summer time two shows a night , by the `Alexander' of the Theatre Royal , that is to say , Mr. Philip Rod-way , was the turn of the tide in the fortunes of the theatre , to lead on to prosperity .sx The new departure was justified by the success which crowned it .sx Money was made with the production of two representations nightly , before which the one turn was a monetary molehill to a mountain !sx If you want to see the monument erected to Mr. Rodway's triumph in this direction , it is to be found in the balance-sheets of the theatre since the duplicate turns were initiated .sx " A start in this desirable direction was made at once , by closing only for the month of July .sx On re-opening , twice-nightly remained the order , with Mr. Wu , A Chinese Honey-moon , Baby Mine , and return visits of The Land of Promise and A Pair of Silk Stockings occupying the August .sx And of The Chinese Honeymoon of 1915 there is a little story .sx It reached us , through a Speedwell Road postman , in the February of 1932 :sx " `Was that the Mr. Rodway of the Theatre Royal ?sx ' he had asked one of the gardeners .sx `I shall never forget a good turn he did me seventeen years ago .sx I was invalided home from the front , and me and the wife had decided to go to the theatre and see A .sx Chinese Honeymoon we'd only been married that very morning !sx Well , we got there , and there wasn't a seat left in the place .sx I know I .sx was standing leaning against the wall , feeling thoroughly down , when Mr. Rodway happened to pass by .sx Recognising one of `the boys in blue' he came over and spoke .sx " `You're looking very despondent , old man,' he said ; `what's wrong , eh ?sx ' " I explained that it was our wedding night , probably all we should have for a honeymoon , and the theatre was full .sx " 'Come along with me,' he said , `and we'll see what we can find .sx ' And he took us both along a corridor , put us into a box .sx next the stage , gave us a box of chocolates , and then with a quiet smile and `Now settle down and enjoy yourselves,' he went out and left us .sx Seventeen years ago it was , but we've never forgotten .sx " In the same season there was also a flying matinee of The Angel in the House , in which H. B. Irving , Lady Tree , Holman Clark , Vera Coburn , Mary Glynne , and Langhorne Burton appeared .sx Some of the plays given twice-nightly were so successful that they were quickly repeated .sx Examples are Brewster's Millions , Broadway Jones , and Oh , I Say !sx . Regarding the return of Brewster's Millions there is a little story .sx Percy Hutchison and his company had come from Ireland over the week-end .sx Missing a connection , they actually arrived in Birmingham ( with their scenery ) at 6.35 p.m. , five minutes before the curtain should have risen .sx P.R. and his staff created a record of celerity by getting the scenery in and set in time for the show to commence only ten minutes late !sx In The Flag Lieutenant , one of the season's successes , Henry Hallatt played the hero .sx This very cultured actor , who has since achieved great local popularity both as a touring star and as the leading man of resident seasons under P.R.'s old friend Leon Salberg at the Alexandra Theatre , had a specially warm place in his heart for the Royal , where his father , the late W. W. Hallatt , had been a notable figure in the old " stock " days .sx " Your father and I , " he writes , " were of course old friends , and we had many chats on the theatre .sx I shall always remember .sx how he urged me to go into actor-management .sx .. He told me I could have a date any time but most of the other managers either wanted to see the play I proposed presenting , or had no dates !sx So I remained an actor .sx " All my visits to Birmingham were made particularly happy ; your father was always the perfect host .sx " New shows were given fair representation as compared with revivals .sx Thus Maltby's The Laughter of Fools , not previously seen at the Royal , preceded a revival of Florodora , with Evie Green and Edward Lewis in their long-familiar roles .sx Martin Harvey revived The Breed of the Treshams , but he also put on Armageddon , a war-time morality play .sx The twice-nightly season continued until the end of October .sx A month of full-length attractions followed , the outstanding item being The Spanish Main , with Oscar Asche , Lily Brayton , Caleb Porter , and Randle Ayrton ( now stage director of the Stratford Memorial Theatre , where Caleb's son Neil was a leading man this year ) combining to make a huge success .sx Before the pantomime opened there was an amateur performance of Liberty Hall in aid of the Commercial Travellers' Schools and Benevolent Institution .sx Parts were taken by Nora Bind , Alfred Batchlor , G. F. Ostins , Doris Rushworth , .sx Guy St. Clair , H. V. Currie , Mrs. G. Fisher , C. L. Moore , Gertrude Rees , C. Andrews , and Master B. H. Batchlor .sx The autumn season proper had closed on Charles Macdona's revival of Niobe , with Peter Amos played by Macdona himself .sx CHAPTER 17 ( 1915-16 ) .sx The House that jack Built ; Billy Merson and Clarice Mayne jingle Johnnie a Graham Squiers' story " Blossomland , " " The Waterfall , " and " The Snow-clad Hills " Special entertainments to wounded soldiers " The Tale of a Timepiece " Mr. Howard Jaques Zeppelins over Birmingham 1916 Season Parties at the Botanical Gardens Mr. Neville Chamberlain .sx PANTOMIME 1915-16 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT .sx Here was another typical example of the pantomimes which made Philip Rodway famous .sx Not since 1859 had this subject been tackled at the Royal , and one can easily under-stand why , for the nursery rhyme , which is believed to owe its origin to a Chaldee hymn , is a mere cumulative jingle leading nowhere .sx However , P.R. saw possibilities of a coherent first half , with scope for specialities in the second , and George M. Slater's book fulfilled his wishes to perfection .sx A special point of interest is that this pantomime saw the first of the series of dress rehearsals thrown open by P.R.'s invitation to an audience of wounded soldiers and sailors .sx Speaking figuratively , The House that jack Built was a large well-furnished structure , commanding lovely prospects , heated and lit by humour and wit , sheltered from any possible dullness by eminences of attractive songs , dances , and pageants , and inhabited by a very happy family .sx " Mr. Philip Rodway and his coadjutors " ( said a critic ) " must be envied in every other provincial theatre for their knack of satisfying the public taste in pantomime .sx The one now presented avoids overstressing any one feature at the expense of others .sx All the units of pantomime have been mobilised and consolidated , and the result is a beautiful , compact , amusing , and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment .sx " As in 1914 , so in 1915 , there was a complete exclusion of war jokes .sx Had it not been for an imposing scene in which ambassadors in colourful and picturesque uniforms , with their attendant suites , represented the allied and friendly nations , there would not have been a hint of the troubled .sx state of the world .sx This was the scene for which Philip Rod-way and George Slater , under the name of Phil George , wrote the great song hit , The Right Shall Prevail ( sung by Leonard Mackay , the handsome , dignified Prince Edgar of Pleasantia) .sx A copy of this was accepted by her Majesty the Queen .sx Great triumphs were scored in the production by Clarice Mayne and Billy Merson , both new to pantomime in Birmingham .sx