''Summertime'' is a

comedy play Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy endi ...

by the British writer

Louis N. Parker Louis Napoleon Parker (21 October 1852 – 21 September 1944) was an English dramatist, composer and translator. Parker wrote many plays, developing a reputation for historical works. His 1911 play ''Disraeli'' is one of his best known, written ...

. It ran for 52 performances at the

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

in London's West End between 30 October and 13 December 1919. The original cast included

Fay Compton Virginia Lilian Emmeline Compton-Mackenzie, (; 18 September 1894 – 12 December 1978), known professionally as Fay Compton, was an English actress. She appeared in several films, and made many broadcasts, but was best known for her stage per ...

, C. Aubrey Smith,

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond Order of the British Empire, MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. Hi ...

Arthur Pusey Arthur Pusey (July 1896 – 1965) was a British stage and film actor. He was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and died in London. Selected filmography * '' The Barton Mystery'' (1920) * '' The Bachelor's Club'' (1921) * '' The Other Person'' ...

Mary Brough Mary Bessie Brough (16 April 1863 – 30 September 1934) was an English actress in theatre, silent films and early talkies, including eleven of the twelve Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. The daughter of a well-known actor, Lione ...

and

Madge Stuart Madge Stuart (5 August 1895, in Holmesfield, Derbyshire – 10 October 1958, in Monte Carlo, Monaco) was a British actress of the silent era. She married Dion Titheradge in 1928. Selected filmography * ''Nature's Gentleman'' (1918) * ''The Elus ...

. Compton plays an Australian woman visiting

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

who manages to arrange four different marriages. One review criticised the "stagey and artificial" Devon depicted in the play, comparing it unfavourably to the portrayals of the county in the works of

Eden Phillpotts Eden Phillpotts (4 November 1862 – 29 December 1960) was an English author, poet and dramatist. He was born in Mount Abu, India, was educated in Plymouth, Devon, and worked as an insurance officer for ten years before studying for the stage ...

.Wearing p.896

References

Bibliography

* Wearing, J.P. ''The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''.. Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. 1919 plays West End plays Comedy plays Plays by Louis N. Parker Plays set in Devon {{1910s-play-stub