The Gay Lord Quex is an 1899 comedy play by the British playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. It depicts the vicissitudes of a reformed philanderer attempting to embark on monogamy. The original production provoked controversy, some critics finding the plot at best questionable and at worst immoral.
The play premiered at the Globe Theatre, London, on 8 April 1899, and ran for 300 performances. It was produced by John Hare, who also played the title role. Others in the cast included Charles Cherry, Frank Gillmore, May Fortescue, Irene Vanbrugh and Mabel Terry-Lewis. The play was revived in the West End in five productions during the 20th century and has been adapted for the cinema, radio and television.
Background and original production
By 1899 Pinero was established as a leading playwright, with a series of long-running plays from the mid 1880s onwards. His works ranged from farces such as The Magistrate (1885) and Dandy Dick (1887) to more serious pieces including The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893) and Trelawny of the 'Wells' (1898). Although most of his stage works had been critical and commercial successes, Pinero wrote The Gay Lord Quex in the wake of a conspicuous failure, a "romantic musical drama", The Beauty Stone, written jointly with J. Comyns Carr to music by Arthur Sullivan; it closed in July 1898 after only 50 performances. By contrast, The Gay Lord Quex, which opened at the old Globe Theatre on 8 April 1899 and ran until 9 February 1900, achieved 300 consecutive performances. After the London run, Hare and his company took the piece on tour in the British provinces and, in November 1900, to New York, where it played at the Criterion Theatre.
Original cast
The Marquess of Quex – John Hare
Sir Chichester Frayne, Governor of a West African country – Gilbert Hare
Captain Bastling – Charles Cherry
"Valma" otherwise Frank Pollitt, a palmist – Frank Gillmore
The Duchess of Strood – May Fortescue
Julia, Countess of Owbridge – Fanny Coleman
Mrs Jack Eden – Mona K. Oram
Muriel Eden, her sister-in-law – Mabel Terry-Lewis
Sophy Fullgarney, a manicurist – Irene Vanbrugh
Misses Moon, Huddle, Claridge and Limard, her assistants – Laura McGilvray, Doris Templeton, Victoria Addison and Marion Dolby Patrons, servants, etc. Source: The Era.
Plot
Sophy Fullgarney is a manicurist whose clients include the Countess of Owbridge and the Duchess of Strood. The former is elderly and kind; the latter is younger and romantically inclined. They are both also clients of "Valma", the professional name of the palmist Frank Pollitt; he practises in the next door premises and is Sophy's fiancé. Sophy is the foster-sister of the beautiful Muriel Eden, and is set against Muriel's intended marriage to the notorious middle-aged roué, the Marquess of Quex. Sophy does not believe that he is, as he claims, a reformed character and believes a more suitable husband for her foster-sister would be the charming young Captain Bastling.
Lady Owbridge invites the other characters to her country house, where the Duchess, an old flame of Quex's, insists on his drinking a farewell glass of champagne in her room after dinner. It is a wholly innocent rendezvous, but would appear highly scandalous if others knew of it. Sophy spies on them, and is discovered. The Duchess hastily departs, leaving Quex and Sophy to confront each other. To avoid a scandal he attempts to bribe her to remain silent. He is impressed to find that her motives are not mercenary and that she is simply determined that he shall not marry Muriel. He points out that he has locked the door, and that if Sophy is discovered to be alone with him in a bedroom her fiancé would assuredly break off their engagement. Any scandal she causes will therefore be as damaging to her as to him. He convinces her that he is truly reformed and she promises not to stand in the way of his marriage to Muriel.
Quex is concerned that the handsome young Captain Bastling is a rival for Muriel's affections. Sophy tricks Bastling into revealing that he is as dissolute a philanderer as Quex used to be. Muriel sees how untrustworthy he is, and prefers the reformed Quex.