[Grace Toll Hall, Scripps College, Claremont]
IRock, Thethe dress-rehearsal;c8 find it hard to get time to write at the moment because I go to rehearsals every night. It will be all over for me, I hope, after Monday. Act I full dress rehearsal last night, Act II tonight, both acts tomorrow starting at 2:30 and going on indefinitely. I am certainly getting an insight into problems of production, and also of acting, which I never had before. I can also affirm that there is nothing like dress rehearsals for promoting bad feeling. I have kept out myself so far, but I had to spend a good deal of time last night trying to soothe the feelings of the chief comedian, who felt that the producer had insulted him. TheShaw, Martinargues with Martin Browne at dress-rehearsal;a4 producerBrowne, Elliott Martinproduction of The Rock;a2argues with Shaw at dress-rehearsal;a9 and the composer also had a brief but sharp spat. The auditorium was filled with Danes, Assyrians, bricklayers, harlots, monks, nuns, etc. moving about, going on (always a bit late) for their cues, and coming back to see the rest of the show; a good deal of time was spent in dialogue with an invisible person named Joe who controlled the lighting; the Cat disappeared for some time; and they had imprudently recruited a number of London University boys for the Mob – they were probably slightly tipsy, took it as a rag (I could have predicted that) and behaved much more like a Mob than they were meant to be. However, the whole thing was better than I expected; some of the costume and lighting were very good. I got home about 12.30.
I am very doubtful of the reception of the show by a rather stuffy suburban audience. And I am very curious to see what sort of reception the political scene will get. TheRothermere, Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscountand The Rock;a1 PlutocratNuffield, William Richard Morris, 1st Viscountand The Rock;a1 is not meant to be a caricature of anybody, but Lord Rothermere or Lord Nuffield might be annoyed.
IPerkinses, thegiven introduction to G. C. Coulton;e3 hear that your family are now in Cambridge – I mean, I heard from your Aunt from Cambridge – as they could not get rooms in Chichester for Whitsun. AsCoulton, George Gordon;a3 they are coming up to town for a few days next week (they will see the rock [sic] on Wednesday) I am not sending them any introductions till their return. I think they will like Coulton.
I shall continue to write to Claremont until I hear of the date of your leaving. Will you have any regular address while you are in Boston?
ISheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister);d5 had a letter from Ada a few days ago, saying that she had a letter from you saying that you were coming to England, and expressing her pleasure on my account. She added, in the same context, thatEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister)1934 summer in England with Dodo;c5;a2 sheSmith, Theodora ('Dodo') Eliot (TSE's niece)and Marion's 1934 visit to England;b1;a2 hopes I will not allow Marian and Dodo to take up too much of my time. I think I can manage that. Marian is the last person in the world to make unreasonable demands, in any case. And I don’t believe they will want to stay very long in one place. Marian has not been here for twelve years, and then she came to look after my mother. Now she is to be looked after by Dodo, who is bold and efficient.
I will write again on Tuesday, after the first night. IHale, Emilyas director ('producer');v9Comus;a4 suppose you are wrestling with the problems of Comus, no easy thing to produce, in my opinion. I suppose you will do it out of doors? I believe it was, or is to be done out of doors at Ludlow Castle.
Dans l’attente de te revoir, à bientôt1
1.‘Waiting to see you again, see you soon’.
4.E. MartinBrowne, Elliott Martin Browne (1900–80), English director and producer, was to direct the first production of Murder in the Cathedral: see Biographical Register.
3.GeorgeCoulton, George Gordon Gordon Coulton, FBA (1858–1947), historian of medieval history and religion; controversialist; vehement anti-Catholic. His many publications include Chaucer and His England (1908); Life in the Middle Ages (1910; revised in 4 vols, 1928); Papal Infallibility (1922); In Defence of the Reformation (1931); Five Centuries of Religion (4 vols, 1927–50).
1.Marian/MarionEliot, Marion Cushing (TSE's sister) Cushing Eliot (1877–1964), fourth child of Henry Ware Eliot and Charlotte Eliot: see Biographical Register.
1.MartinShaw, Martin Shaw (1875–1958), composer of stage works, choral pieces and recital ballads: see Biographical Register.
2.AdaSheffield, Ada Eliot (TSE's sister) Eliot Sheffield (1869–1943), eldest of the seven Eliot children; author of The Social Case History: Its Construction and Content (1920) and Social Insight in Case Situations (1937): see Biographical Register.
2.TheodoraSmith, Theodora ('Dodo') Eliot (TSE's niece) Eliot Smith (1904–92) – ‘Dodo’ – daughter of George Lawrence and Charlotte E. Smith: see Biographical Register. Theodora’sSmith, Charlotte ('Chardy') Stearns (TSE's niece) sister was Charlotte Stearns Smith (b. 1911), known as ‘Chardy’.