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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
A contemporary review of the play offers the following synopsis:
'Dr, Riordan is undoubtedly a far-seeing murderer, but his method–which is to tether his victim in a secret dungeon until the disappearance has been taken for granted, quietly poison him, and dissolve away the remains–has one big and perhaps fatal drawback for the stage. There is nothing for the doctor to do in the necessary time of waiting but lecture. Dr Riordan lectures his bearded Monte Christo until we begin to fear he may die untimely of sheer ennui. He survives, but the gallery has not his patience, and the clumsily written last act runs a perilous course.'
Source:
'Princes Theatre. "A Man about a Dog" by Alec Coppel', The Times, 18 May 1949, p.7.
Production Details
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Played at the Princes Theatre, London, from 17 May 1949.
Cast members included Griffith Jones, Robert Shackleton, William Mervyn, and Harriette Johns.
Newspaper notices indicate that the play was written 'a year or two ago', but this may be a reference to the 1947 novel on which the play is based (see, for example, The Times, 16 May 1949, p.2).
