Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

, known as a novelist, also wrote the following plays: * ''Busman's Honeymoon ''

began writing plays for public performance in 1935 with ''Busman’s Honeymoon'', a dramatic incarnation of the characters from her

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...

books. She collaborated on this script with her friend from her college days at Oxford, M. St. Clare Byrne who was a lecturer at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

. ''Busman’s Honeymoon'' opened in December 1936 at the Comedy Theatre in London. It was later worked into the last novel in the series, and published in 1937. * ''The Zeal of Thy House'' In 1936 Sayers was approached by Margaret Babington, organizer of the Canterbury Festival, to write a play for their 1937 Festival. This was prior to the production of ''Busman’s Honeymoon'', but Sayers had been recommended to Babington by the Festival’s playwright of 1936, the poet Charles Williams. In 1934 the Festival began honoring various professions each year, and the theme for 1937 was artists and craftsmen. It was also tradition that the subjects of the plays have something to do with the history of

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

. Accordingly, Sayers’ script centered on

William of Sens William of Sens or Guillaume de Sens (died 11 August 1180) was a 12th-century French master mason and architect, believed to have been born at Sens, France. He is known for rebuilding the choir of Canterbury Cathedral between 1174 and 1177, coun ...

, the architect chosen to rebuild the Cathedral’s choir in 1174 after it was destroyed by fire. While completing the work on the choir, William of Sens suffered a crippling fall. Sayers’ plot hinged on the eyewitness account of Gervase the Monk who attributed the fall to "either the vengeance of God or the envy of the Devil." Based on this enigmatic line of Gervase’s, Sayers created a prideful William of Sens whose intrigue with the choir’s benefactress leads inadvertently to the tragic accident. The title of the play was taken from Psalm 69:9, “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." ''The Zeal of Thy House'' was presented at the Canterbury Festival June 12–18, 1937 with a cast of forty professional and amateur actors.

Harcourt Williams Ernest George Harcourt Williams (30 March 1880 – 13 December 1957) was an English actor and director. After early experience in touring companies he established himself as a character actor and director in the West End. From 1929 to 1934 he ...

co-directed and also played the role of William of Sens. Frank Napier was the other co-director and played the role of Theodatus. It was later produced in London at the

Westminster Theatre The Westminster Theatre was a theatre in London, on Palace Street in Westminster. History The structure on the site was originally built as the Charlotte Chapel in 1766, by William Dodd with money from his wife Mary Perkins. Through Peter Ri ...

in March 1938, and was revived at the Canterbury Festival in 1949. * ''He That Should Come'' ''He That Should Come'' is a one-act nativity play originally written for radio. Sayers' main concern was to portray the birth of Christ in a realistic, "crowded social and historical background." To this end, she used ordinary prose and insisted on everyday speech patterns with no tones of reverence. ''He That Should Come'' was originally broadcast on Christmas Day in 1938. *''The Devil To Pay'' ''The Devil to Pay'' was also written for the Canterbury Festival and was presented at the Festival in June 1939. For this script, Sayers used the Faust legend. Her problem was "a question of supplying some kind of human interpretation of a supernatural legend." The set for ''The Devil to Pay'' was relatively elaborate for Festival productions and employed medieval mansions depicting heaven and hell at opposite ends of the stage with various locations between. Frank Napier co-directed this production as well as playing the role of Mephistopheles. Harcourt Williams appeared in the role of Faustus. ''The Devil to Pay'' was produced in July 1939 at His Majesty’s Theatre in London and ran for four weeks. *''Love All'' ''Love All'' was a stage comedy presented in April 1940 at the Torch Theatre in Knightsbridge. Its plot involves a romance writer, his mistress, and his wife who is a playwright and probably a depiction of Sayers herself. The writer has run off to Venice with his mistress, and the play opens as they begin to tire of each other. Both decide to sneak away to London and, of course, run into each other at his wife's flat. The wife has become a successful playwright in her husband's absence and has not had time to grant the divorce. The play discusses the issue of career versus family and ends with both women choosing work over a relationship with the writer. The play was not commercially successful. *''The Man Born to Be King'' ''

The Man Born to Be King ''The Man Born to Be King'' is a radio drama based on the life of Jesus, produced and broadcast by the BBC during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events s ...

'' is a

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

based on the life of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, produced and broadcast by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection. It was first broadcast by the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

on Sunday evenings, beginning on December 21, 1941, with new episodes broadcast at 4-week intervals, ending on October 18, 1942. *''The Just Vengeance'' ''The Just Vengeance'' was written for the

Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Chad in Lichfield, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Lichfield, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Lichfield and the principal church of the diocese ...

Festival in 1946. The plot involves an Airman who has been shot down. His spirit returns to his home in Lichfield where he is shown the meaning of Atonement, his

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

takes place and he then enters heaven. The play was performed inside the cathedral which produced many acoustical challenges. Sayers attempted to assist the actors by using "formal and incantatory"James Brabazon, ''Dorothy L. Sayers: The Life of a Courageous Woman'', (Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1981) 237. speech. *''Where Do We Go from Here?'' ''Where Do We Go from Here?'' was the closing play in a series of six half-hour radio plays written by members of the

Detection Club The Detection Club was formed in 1930 by a group of British mystery writers, including Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ronald Knox, Freeman Wills Crofts, Arthur Morrison, Hugh Walpole, John Rhode, Jessie Louisa Rickard, Baroness Orczy, ...

to raise funds for the organisation. The first play in the series was '' Butter in a Lordly Dish'' by

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

. ''Where Do We Go from Here?'' was broadcast on February 24, 1948. It has never been published. *''The Emperor Constantine'' ''The Emperor Constantine'' was written in 1951 for the Colchester Festival and portrays the Council of Nicaea during which the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

was formed.

References

*''Busman's Honeymoon'' by Dorothy L. Sayers and M. St. Clare Byrne *''The Canterbury Festival Plays in Production, 1928–1958'' by James George Dixon, III *''Dorothy L. Sayers: The Life of a Courageous Woman'' by James Brabazon *''Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul'' by Barbara Reynolds *''Four Sacred Plays'' by Dorothy L. Sayers *''Love All & Busman's Honeymoon'' by Dorothy L. Sayers, edited by Alzina Stone Dale *''The Remarkable Case of Dorothy L. Sayers'' by Catherine Kenney {{DEFAULTSORT:Plays by Dorothy L. Sayers Sayers, Dorothy L. plays