Deep are the Roots: Hull New Theatre, April 1950
The photograph above is taken from the 1947 London performance of Deep are the Roots; a challenging cutting-edge play about racial tension and segregation in 1940’s southern America.[1] The picture shows American actor Gordon Heath in the role of army officer Brett Charles, whilst his co-star sitting opposite is actress Betsy Drake who played the part of senator’s daughter Genevra Langdon.[2] The play was originally performed to much critical success in New York in 1945 (it ran for 477 performances), and afterwards it was brought across to Britain to begin another successful run at Wyndham’s Theatre, London, with its original stars in the same roles.
The play, written by American playwrights Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow, tells the story of decorated Black army officer Brett Charles who has attempted to gain employment as a school teacher upon his return home from World War II. Unfortunately, the racial prejudice that he had left behind in America, while he was stationed in Europe, was still very much in evidence upon his return after he is accused by his new employer, Senator Ellsworth Langdon, of the theft of a gold watch. The play follows Brett’s psychological readjustment on coming home after the war and his pursuit of “fairness” after experiencing a war in which the colour of his skin was irrelevant to the goal of fighting a common enemy.
The play, written by American playwrights Arnaud d'Usseau and James Gow, tells the story of decorated Black army officer Brett Charles who has attempted to gain employment as a school teacher upon his return home from World War II. Unfortunately, the racial prejudice that he had left behind in America, while he was stationed in Europe, was still very much in evidence upon his return after he is accused by his new employer, Senator Ellsworth Langdon, of the theft of a gold watch. The play follows Brett’s psychological readjustment on coming home after the war and his pursuit of “fairness” after experiencing a war in which the colour of his skin was irrelevant to the goal of fighting a common enemy.
Three years after its success on the London stage the play came to Hull’s New Theatre in April 1950. The newspaper advert to the left, taken from the Hull Daily Mail (3 April 1950), shows how it was promoted as “direct from Wyndham’s Theatre, London,” and described as a “topical colour-bar play” (the ‘colour-bar’ being a social system in which Black people are denied access to the same rights, opportunities, and facilities as white people), starring Connie Smith and Harry Trowb “in their original coloured roles.”[3] It is unclear whether the two actors were part of the original Wyndham’s Theatre cast, but certainly Connie Smith (cast as Brett’s mother, Bella Charles) would appear in the same role a month later for the BBC’s Sunday Night Theatre live studio production of the play which aired on 7 May 1950, with Gordon Heath reprising his role as Brett.[4]
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The Hull Daily Mail reviewed the play the following day describing it as a “powerful indictment of racial prejudice” (see newspaper headline below).[5] The success of the play’s reception in Hull was suggested by the “attentive and receptive” response of the audience and the “repeated curtain-calls” demanded by them at the end of the play. The Mail described Harry Trowb’s performance as “quiet and restrained” at the beginning, building to passion at the end, and Connie Smith, as Bella, was styled as “blessed with the perfect ease that goes hand in hand with the best stagecraft.” Little is known about actor Harry Trowb; however, Connie Smith (pictured below) was, by this period, one of the best known Black actresses in the business.
Connie was born in South Carolina in the USA in 1875 as Cornelia Estelle Johnson, moving to Brooklyn as a young child. She was initially a music hall performer arriving in Britain in 1914 where she remained for the rest of her life, dying in London at the age of 95, in 1970.[6] Connie appeared in film and theatre and was known best for her performances in All God’s Chillun’ Got Wings (1946), You can’t take it with you (1947) and Kaiser Jones (1961). In 1956 she became a member of the distinguished English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. Her roles included the sorceress Tituba in Arthur Miller's The Crucible (1956) (see picture below).
After its success in Hull, the play went on to be performed at theatres in Lincoln, Leeds, Huddersfield and others parts of the country. If you would like to know more about this influential play, please take a look at the further reading and links suggestions below.
After its success in Hull, the play went on to be performed at theatres in Lincoln, Leeds, Huddersfield and others parts of the country. If you would like to know more about this influential play, please take a look at the further reading and links suggestions below.
NOTES
[1] The photograph is part of a larger collection of images from the V&A Theatre Archive, London. [2] Gordon Heath would title his 1992 biography Deep are the Roots, see further reading below. [3] Hull Daily Mail, 3 April 1950. [4] Season 1, Episode 19. Unfortunately, no archival copy is known to exist. [5] Hull Daily Mail, 4 April 1950. [6] Stephen Bourne, ‘Smith , Cornelia Estelle (1875–1970)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oct 2010; online edn, Jan 2011 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/94605, accessed 4 March 2016] Further Reading Bayers, Betty. ‘“Deep are the Roots”, a Bold Step Against Hate,’ The Afro-American, 20 Oct 1945. Heath, Gordon. Deep are the Roots: Memoirs of a Black Expatriate (Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1992). Smith, Judith. E. ‘The Returning Negro Solider, Interracial Romance, and Deep are the Roots,’ in Visions of Belonging, Family Stories, Popular Culture, and Postwar Democracy, 1940-1960 (Columbia University Press, 2004), pp.128-133. |
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