Plays

The Silver Box is a three-act comedy, the first play by the English writer John Galsworthy. It was originally produced in London in 1906, and attracted much attention. In New York it was first seen in 1907. In the play, the disappearance of a cigarette box (the silver box) leads to a comparison of the behaviour of the son of a prosperous politician, with that of an unemployed man, and the exposure of attitudes of different social classes. Galsworthy said that his aim was "to create such an illusion of actual life passing on the stage as to compel the spectator to pass through an experience of his own, to think and talk and move with the people he sees thinking and talking and moving in front of him."The Silver Box was first produced on 25 September 1906 at the Royal Court Theatre in London.The play was among several new plays at this theatre from 1904 to 1907 directed by J. E. Vedrenne and Harley Granville-Barker, by notable dramatists including George Bernard Shaw. Although The Silver Box did not draw large audiences, it was much discussed. It was first seen in New York on 18 March 1907 at the Empire Theatre. It was produced by Charles Frohman and featured Bruce McRae as Jones and Ethel Barrymore as Mrs. Jones. Critics praised Ethel Barrymore's performance, but audiences preferred to see her in more glamorous parts. There were only 20 performances... John Galsworthy OM (14 August 1867 - 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga (1906-1921) and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932. Life Galsworthy was born at what is now known as Galsworthy House (then called Parkhurst) on Kingston Hill in Surrey, England, the son of John and Blanche Bailey (née Bartleet) Galsworthy. His family was prosperous and well established, with a large property in Kingston upon Thames that is now the site of three schools: Marymount International School, Rokeby Preparatory School, and Holy Cross Preparatory School. He attended Harrow and New College, Oxford, after which he trained as a barrister and was called to the bar in 1890. However, he was not keen to begin practising law and instead travelled abroad to look after the family's shipping business. During these travels he met Joseph Conrad, then the first mate of a sailing-ship moored in the harbour of Adelaide, Australia, and the two future novelists became close friends. In 1895 Galsworthy began an affair with Ada Nemesis Pearson Cooper (1864-1956), the wife of his cousin Major Arthur Galsworthy. After her divorce ten years later, they were married on 23 September 1905 and stayed together until his death in 1933. Before their marriage, they often stayed clandestinely in a farmhouse called Wingstone in the village of Manaton on Dartmoor, Devon. In 1908 Galsworthy took a long lease on part of the building and it was their regular second home until 1923....