Description: All of the plays featured in this film were performed by the Latymer Dramatic Society in the Great Hall of the school.

The first play performed by the children of Latymer School is Trelawny of the wells, originally written by Pinero in 1898. This is a comedy set in the 1860s which narrates the story of a melodrama theatre star, Rose, who gives up her career to marry Arthur. However, she doesn’t merge well with married life in the conservative family, so she decides to run away back to the stage, only to find she has lost her talent for melodramas. Arthur, the abandoned husband, also turns to the stage becoming an actor. Finally, Rose stars in a realist play, which she is now more suited for, written and directed by a friend, who secretly arranges the male lead to be played by Arthur, finally reuniting the couple. The performance features lavish props and accurate costumes.

The second play we see is The rivals (1948), another comedy performed by the Latymer pupils, written by Sheridan. The performance is set in Bath, year 1775, resort of society and fashion at the time. The production sought to preserve the simple conventions of the 18th century through the stage, focusing on the satire and social commentary of the play’s message.

This play features a young Eileen Atkins when she was a student at the school. She had the role of Assistant to Stage Manager as well as acting as Lucy, the maid to the lead female character Lydia. The main theme is Lydia’s quest for love, wanting to marry someone of lower social status than herself. Her aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, is strongly opposed to this quest, and represents the main comic character of the piece.

Eileen Atkins starts off by holding up a card which introducing the play, dates & time of its performance: “Latymer Dramatic Society, The Rivals of R.B. Sheridan, Nov 11, 12, 13, 1948 7.30”. The play is formed of 5 acts, each of which is introduced with a title card presented by Eileen. We start off with “No news is good news”, where three male actors get involved in a dispute, possibly the three potential suitors of Lydia, Jack, Bob and Sir Lucius. Then Eileen introduces the second act, “Lucy intrigues”, were she performs alongside two men, where she acts as Lucy, Lydia’s conniving maid. This is followed by scenes of acts 3 and 4, tilted “Country squire” and “Mrs Malaprop match maker”. Finally, the play ends with the fifth act, “All rivals”, were two men fight with swords, interrupted by a crowd of people. The last scene shows the two main characters, Lydia and Jack, finally presented as a married couple.

The bluebird (1949), a dream fantasy by Maeterlinck (1908), tells the story of two siblings, Mytyl and Tytlyl, children of a woodcutter, in the search for happiness, which is represented as a bluebird. During their journey they are aided by the fairy Berylune, as well as the wonderful beings of Fire, Water, Sugar and Light, set on Christmas eve and day. The play beings with the scene “The diamond turns…”, were all three characters are introduced. The backdrops used in this performance are truly amazing. Then we watch “The land of memory”, scene where a wealthy family in their home, representing what the siblings long for. “The palace of night” shows a group of characters in veils walk across the stage. After this, during “The trees and animals attack” the stage is filled with characters and a lot of activity. We see the hero and heroine against a backdrop of cemetery acting terrified, and following the scene title “The kingdom of the unborn children” they are surrounded by young children with a background of a Viking ship filled with more children. This brings the play to an end, with the title card “The end of the quest”, where Tyltel, the male lead, presents what he has learnt about happiness, admiring his surroundings with a newly found appreciation.

The final play is another comedy, As you like it by Shakespeare. The performance begins with the school orchestra playing, as the curtains open to the sound of string and wind. The plot of the play tells the story of Rosalind, daughter of Duke Senior, who is forced to flee the court into the forest, accompanied by her cousin Celia. For this reason, most scenes take place with a forest backdrop. The character of Rosalind has to dress up as a man to escape, and Celia as an old woman. Following many adventures, the play ends with a scene where all love interests finally unite.

This short and snappy film records the annual plays put on by the Latymer School's Dramatic Society. With high production values in set design and costumes, good lighting and 'live' intertitles, these late 1940s plays are a rare and entertaining treat. Of special note is that the young actress presenting the intertitles and playing Lucy the maid is Dame Eileen Atkins, who went on to make acting her life-long career.