FREE SCRIPT REVIEW "Our Boys" (1887) by Henry James Byron (died 1884)

"Our Boys" by Henry James Byron (the playwright, Not the poet) Six male, four female (Two male servants can be played by women) This play was one of the longer running millenium comedies. The basic story is the universal theme of parents agony over the choices made by their children. The boys return from a gap year, to take up careers laid out for them. Silver spoon Talbot is promised in marriage by his father, Sir Geoffrey, to a good natured earthy heiress, Violet. But Talbot has other ideas about Violets gorgeous but snobby and penniless cousin, Mary. Sir Geoffrey is host to Perkyn Middlewick and his son Charley is Talbot's travelling companion. Witty observations about Middlewick's dreadful accent and new entrepreneurial status show a class consciousness ahead of it's time. There is a close call and mistaken identity in the final scene as the seniors pay an unexpected visit on the boys, but the love interests win over all and the plot conclues with a happy ending. Set in England in the 1880's, the play is easily adapted to other settings and times. Like many period plays, the servants would not be out of place, even today, if the setting were sufficiently opulent. Full text on line at http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1301921.txt