Home | About | Contact Us

The Arts Council Playography Na Gaeilge

Plays

Printer Friendly

The Old Broom

A Comedy in Three Acts

OVERVIEW

  • Playwright

    George Shiels 

  • Setting

    Broom's House, in Purdystown, and a lodging-house in Belfast, over a twenty-four hour period.

  • Synopsis

    Archy and Emily are an embarrassment to Archy's well-to-do family, with Archy himself having served time, and Emily being the family's former servant girl. Under an agreement with the family, they go to England, and as long as they stay there, they are to receive a regular allowance. But when the couple's home in Coventry is bombed, Emily demands to return home, and when they do Archy's family is outraged. Demanding a return on their agreement should the couple stay, they swiftly discover Emily's shrewdness. As she plays their nuisance value off against family relationships,events take some rather unexpected twists.

  • Play Type

    Plays General

    Number Of Acts

    Full-Length

  • Cast Size Male

    5

  • Cast Size Female

    5

Original Production

Original Cast  
Ben Broom R.H. MacCandless
Emily Broom Elizabeth Begley
Archy Broom Joseph Tomelty
Barbara Broom Jean Woods
Austin Broom Henry Robinson
Rachel Broom Georgina Hadden
Tom Frailey Jack Gavin
Sarah Frailey Ella Boyd
Hubert Dobie Walter B. Kennedy
Landlady Mary Hughes
Production Team  
Decor by Henry Robinson
General Manager Joseph Tomelty
Produced by R.H. MacCandless
Stage Manager Dan Fitzpatrick
Records and Reproduction W. Erskine Mayne

Published Scripts

  • Title

    The Old Broom: a Comedy in Three Acts

  • Year

    1947

  • Published By

    Golden Eagle

  • Address

    Dublin
    Republic of Ireland

Rights Information

  • Territory

    All Territories

  • Rights Type

    All Rights

  • Contact

    Colin Smythe Ltd.

  • Address

    P. O. Box 6, Gerrards Cross
    Buckinghamshire
    SL9 8XA
    England

  • Phone

    +44 (0) 1753 886000

  • Email

    cs@colinsmythe.co.uk

Source Of Information

Information for this entry was taken from the original production programme, the published script, press cuttings and from the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive of the Linen Hall Library, Belfast.