''M'Lady'' is a 1921 play by the British writer

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. It is a drama about a woman who tries to raise her daughter in high society, only for her husband to return from

Broadmoor Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...

where he has been serving a sentence for killing a police officer. It was panned by theatre critics. It ran for twenty three performances at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. The original cast included

Frederick Leister Frederick Leister (1 December 1885 – 24 August 1970), was an English actor. He began his career in musical comedy and after serving in the First World War he played character roles in modern West End plays and in classic drama. He appeared in ...

Frederick Worlock Frederick Worlock (December 14, 1886 – August 1, 1973) was a British-American actor. He is known for his work in various films during the 1940s and 1950s, and as the voice of Horace in ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1961). Career On sta ...

and

Henrietta Watson Henrietta Watson (11 March 187329 September 1964) was a Scottish actress. She was born in Dundee, Scotland, on 11 March 1873, into a theatrical family. Her maternal grandfather was actor J.B. Johnston, whom Edmund Yates considered to be “the m ...

. In 1930 Wallace adapted the play into a novel '' The Lady of Ascot''.Kabatchnik p.171

References

Bibliography

* Kabatchnik, Amnon. ''Blood on the Stage, 1975-2000: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. * Wearing, J. P. ''The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. 1921 plays Plays by Edgar Wallace Plays set in England West End plays {{1920s-play-stub