A Sleeping Clergyman

A Sleeping Clergyman is a 1933 play in Two Acts by James Bridie.[2][3] Directed by H. K. Ayliff, it opened at Malvern's Festival Theatre in July 1933, before moving to London's Piccadilly Theatre in September, where it ran for 230 performances.[4] It then transferred to Broadway's Guild Theatre in October 1934, where it closed after 40 performances.[5] It was revived, again with Robert Donat, at London’s Criterion Theatre in 1947.[6]

A Sleeping Clergyman
Original theatre programme
Written byJames Bridie
Date premiered29 July 1933[1]
Place premieredMalvern Festival Theatre
Original languageEnglish
Setting
  • A Club in Glasgow
  • A Lodging Near the High Street, Glasgow
  • A Victorian Bedroom; A Seaside Cliff Nea

Plot

Hereditary evil runs through three generations of a medical family, in the 'conflict of social morality and natural desires'[7] - the dissolute and murderous Camerons (from 1867 to 1935) - before a son and daughter finally redeem the family name.[8][9]

Original cast
  • A Sleeping Clergyman ... Godfrey Baxter
  • Dr. Cooper ... Wilson Coleman
  • Dr. Coots ... Alexander Sarner
  • Wilkinson ... Frank Moore
  • Charles Cameron the First ... Robert Donat
  • Mrs. Hannah ... Beatrix Feilden-Kaye
  • Dr. Marshall ... Ernest Thesiger
  • Harriet Marshall ... Dorice Fordred
  • Cousin Minnie ... Sophie Stewart
  • Aunt Walker ... Isabel Thornton
  • Wilhelmina Cameron ... Dorice Fordred
  • John Hannah ... Bruce Belfrage
  • A Sergeant ... Arthur Hambling
  • A Constable ... John Rae
  • Charles Cameron the Second ... Robert Donat
  • Donovan ... Walter Roy
  • Lady Todd Walker ... Eileen Beldon
  • Sir Douglas Todd Walker ... Evelyn Roberts
  • Hope Cameron ... Dorice Fordred
  • Little Thing ... Phyllis Shand
  • Dr. Purley ... Whitmore Humphreys
  • Lady Katherine Helliwell ... Pamela Carme
  • Dr. Coutts ... Alexander Sarner
  • A Medical Student ... Kenneth Fraser

Adaptations

The play was later adapted for radio and broadcast on the BBC's Saturday Night Theatre on 1 January 1949.[10] A televised version was also broadcast by the BBC, in its Sunday Night Theatre slot on 11 January 1959.[11]

References
  1. ""A Sleeping Clergyman" Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Marshall Malvern Festival July 29, 1933 Birmingham Repertory Theatre August 14 - 26, 1933 Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow August 28 - September 2, 1933 Piccadilly Theatre, London September 19, 1933 - March 24, 1934 230 perf Guild Theatre, New York October 8 - November 10, 1934". ernestthesiger.org.
  2. Bridie, James (1934). A Sleeping Clergyman: A Play in Two Acts. Dodd, Mead.
  3. "1933 A Sleeping Clergyman". Robert Donat Theatre Gallery. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  4. Wearing, J. P. (2014). The London Stage 1930-1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel (2 ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 305. ISBN 9780810893047.
  5. "A Sleeping Clergyman". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  6. Diary of Majorie Elsby: entry July 3rd 1947
  7. Riach, Alan (27 September 2021). "Perennially provocative". The National. p. 27. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  8. Royle, Trevor (1984). Macmillan Companion to Scottish Literature. Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 210. ISBN 9781349075874. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  9. "A Sleeping Clergyman". British Universities Film & Video Council. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  10. "Saturday Night Theatre 1943-1960". Sutton Elms. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  11. "A Sleeping Clergyman (1959)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.


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