St Helena: a play in twelve scenes is a play by the English author R. C. Sherriff (notable as the author of the First World War drama Journey's End) and Jeanne de Casalis (who also researched it). It deals with the exile of Napoleon I on Saint Helena. In a production by Henry Cass, it premiered at the Old Vic on 4 February 1936 to poor reviews, but was rescued by a letter to The Times by Winston Churchill, calling it "a remarkable play" and "a work of art of a very high order"; though a West End transfer also proved unsuccessful.[1][2]
St Helena was first staged in the United States at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. on September 28, 1936 in a production produced by Max Gordon for the opening the National's 101st season.[3] The production transferred to Broadway's Lyceum Theatre where it opened on October 6, 1936. Staged by Robert B. Sinclair, the production starred Maurice Evans as Napoleon, Reginald Mason as General Count Betrand, Joseph Macaulay as General Baron Gourgaud, Stephen Ker Appleby as General Count Montholon, Kay Strozzi as Countess Montholon, Rosamond Pinchot as Countess Bertrand, Percy Waram as Sir Hudson Lowe, Harry Bellaver as The Abbe Vignali, Edward Fielding as Admiral Sir George Cockburn, and Whitford Kane as Dr. O'Meara.[4] It ran for 63 performances.[5]
Adaptation
St Helena was presented as the February 27, 1949, episode of The Philco Television Playhouse on NBC. The trade publication Variety described Dennis King's portrayal of Napoleon as "an admirable characterization".[6]
Sources
R. C. Sherriff, No Leading Lady (London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1968), pages 297 to 308
