Silk Playbill
1955 (printed)
Silk and satin theatre playbills and programmes were produced from the 18th century onwards, to commemorate special evenings at the theatre. Most theatres in the 19th century would have had some made to mark grand openings or milestone performances. By the end of the First World War however the practice had generally died out, only being revived very occasionally, more often at London's opera houses than any other theatres.
This silk playbill was produced to mark the 1,000th performance of The Mousetrap two and a half years into its run. The actors John Paul, Allan McClelland, Mignon O'Doherty, Aubrey Dexter, Jessica Spencer and Martin Miller had all played their roles since the play opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 November 1952, when Sheila Sim and Richard Attenborough were Mollie Ralston and Detective Sergeant Trotter. When this was issued marking 1,000 performances, no-one would have imagined that the production would still be running over half a century later.
This silk playbill was produced to mark the 1,000th performance of The Mousetrap two and a half years into its run. The actors John Paul, Allan McClelland, Mignon O'Doherty, Aubrey Dexter, Jessica Spencer and Martin Miller had all played their roles since the play opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 November 1952, when Sheila Sim and Richard Attenborough were Mollie Ralston and Detective Sergeant Trotter. When this was issued marking 1,000 performances, no-one would have imagined that the production would still be running over half a century later.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Printed silk |
| Brief description | Silk playbill produced for the 1,000th performance of The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, Ambassadors Theatre, 22 April 1955. |
| Physical description | Silk programme on white silk printed in blue typography, and fringed along each edge with a cream silk fringe. Produced for the 1,000th performance of The Mousetrap at the Ambassadors Theatre, 22 April 1955. Featuring the name of the producer Peter Saunders, the names of the actors Marguerite Stone, John Paul, Allan McClelland, Mignon O'Doherty, Aubrey Dexter, Jessica Spencer, Martin Miller and Patric Doonan, the name of the Designer Roger Furse, the General Manager Verity Hudson, the Stage Director A. Huntley-Gordon, the Stage Manager Jack White, the Secretary Prudence Atkins, the Press Representative Philip Ridgeway, the Managing Director Herbert J. Malden, the General Manager of the Ambassadors Theatre Aileen M. Halfpenny and the Box Office Manager Eric Payne. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Muriel Martin-Harvey |
| Object history | The actors were Marguerite Stone as Mollie Ralston, John Paul as Giles Ralston, Allan McClelland as Christopher Wren, Mignon O'Doherty as Mrs. Boyle, Aubrey Dexter as Major Metcalf, Jessica Spencer as Miss Caswell, Martin Miller as Mr. Paravincini, and Patric Doonan as Detective Sergeant Trotter. The design was by Roger Furse and the play originally opened at the Ambassador's Theatre, 25 November 1952. |
| Summary | Silk and satin theatre playbills and programmes were produced from the 18th century onwards, to commemorate special evenings at the theatre. Most theatres in the 19th century would have had some made to mark grand openings or milestone performances. By the end of the First World War however the practice had generally died out, only being revived very occasionally, more often at London's opera houses than any other theatres. This silk playbill was produced to mark the 1,000th performance of The Mousetrap two and a half years into its run. The actors John Paul, Allan McClelland, Mignon O'Doherty, Aubrey Dexter, Jessica Spencer and Martin Miller had all played their roles since the play opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on 25 November 1952, when Sheila Sim and Richard Attenborough were Mollie Ralston and Detective Sergeant Trotter. When this was issued marking 1,000 performances, no-one would have imagined that the production would still be running over half a century later. |
| Associated objects |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.402-2006 |
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| Record created | December 28, 2006 |
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