Jan Gordon and The Coventry Repertory Company present "Piping George", 1934

I haven't read "Piping George" by Jan Gordon (one of his novels) for many years now, but recently looked at this extract I had placed on the website back in early 2012:

Eirene Fearon (Millar) turned "Piping George" into a play and offered it to an agent. The Gordons (in The London Roundabout) made the following extract from a response about the offered play:

"To Mr FEARON 
I herewith return your 'play' ... 
I think the less said about it the better. Surely the fire would be the best place to put it. 
I cannot understand the mentality that could consider anything so vulgar and so sordid ... 
The person who wrote Piping George would be better employed sweeping the streets. 
     Yours truly, 
     MAY MARLOWE"

The play was, however, broadcast on Midland Regional at 8.30 pm on November 30th 1934, performed by the Coventry Repertory Company (Manchester Guardian, November 30th, page 12).

Delightfully, the BBC Genome pages carry further details, as follows:


THE COVENTRY REPERTORY COMPANY

(By arrangement with Bennett Theatres, Ltd.) presents
'Piping George'
A Play in One Act by JAN GORDON and EIRENE FEARON
Relayed from
The Opera House, Coventry

Characters 
Nellie Ellen Durst
George Durst
Hilton Hurvey

Scene 1. Ellen Durst's House
Scene 2. The same ten hours later

Production by A. GARDNER DAVIES

Jan Gordon is a well-known writer and artist; he is art critic of The Observer, has collaborated with his wife, Cora Gordon , in a number of illustrated travel books, and also wrote the novel 'Piping George' on which the play has been based.



The Observer's brief review (Gerald Gould, January 12th 1930) of "Piping George" was as follows: "Mr. Gordon's George, in "Piping George" is a character. Not all good, but strong and humorous! The tale is picaresque, and in places improbable; but it will certainly serve."

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