by Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives
You may well have seen examples of the original playbills for the Theatre Royal, Cardiff held at Glamorgan Archives and used to promote performances between 1885 and 1895. During this period the theatre, opened in 1878 and able to seat up to 2000 people, catered for all tastes. The playbill below, however, is a little different in that it is for a series of performances at the Temperance Hall in Merthyr in March 1886. It also signified that something rather special was on offer.
In this case it was The Private Secretary, a comedy that had met with enormous success in London with over 700 performances at the Globe Theatre starring Charles H Hawtrey. Although Hawtrey, who made a considerable fortune from the play, was not performing with the touring party, it was certain to be a very popular choice with the theatregoers of South Wales.
It was no surprise, therefore, that Edward Fletcher, manager of the Theatre Royal, seized on the opportunity to present the play in both Cardiff and Merthyr. The Temperance Hall, first opened in 1852, had been extended in 1873 and it was claimed that it could hold up to 4000 people. While used for both religious and political meetings, it was also Merthyr’s main theatre. It was, therefore, the perfect venue for the play. Although we do not have reviews of the Merthyr performances, it is likely that they would have been similar to the reception in Cardiff where it was described as …one of the most successful modern farcical comedies… [with] …laughter continuous throughout.
The plot of the Private Secretary centred on two young men attempting to escape their creditors. In many ways it echoed Hawtrey’s life. Knighted in 1922, Hawtrey was hailed as the leading comedy actor of his generation and a mentor for many, including Noel Coward. He also appeared in a number of the first silent movies and was a successful theatre manager. However, he was bankrupted on several occasions as a result of gambling debts. Looking back on his life he said:
I had one bet and lost half a crown, and I have been trying for 50 years to win it back.
With a ticket for a reserved seat priced at three shillings, the income from the Merthyr performances would have been very welcome and probably needed.
As to the Temperance Hall, it served for many years as a theatre and cinema, known in more recent years as the Scala Cinema. It closed in the mid 1980s when it was converted into a snooker club.
The playbill for the Private Secretary is held at Glamorgan Archives, reference D452/1/30. It can be accessed on line at http://calmview.cardiff.gov.uk/.
This article is reproduced with the kind permission of the Glamorgan Archives. To view the original, please follow the link below.
The Private Secretary comes to Merthyr
