Hubert Henry Davies

Hubert Henry Davies (17 March 1869 – 17 August 1917) was a leading British playwright and dramatist of the early twentieth century, following in the tradition of Arthur Wing Pinero and Henry Arthur Jones, but influenced profoundly by Thomas William Robertson. He was born in Woodley, Cheshire and spent some time as a journalist in San Francisco.

He began his career in New York with The Weldons (1899) and on his return to Britain collaborated successfully with the actor-manager Charles Wyndham to produce four West End productions including Cousin Kate (Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1903) and Mrs. Gorringe's Necklace (Wyndham's Theatre, 1903).

His best known work was The Mollusc. Originally produced by and starring Charles Wyndham at the Criterion Theatre, London, in 1907, it was revived in London at the Arts Theatre in 1949, at Liverpool Playhouse in 2006 (although the title was changed to The Lady of Leisure), and at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2007 and has also been filmed.^[1] His plays were also successful in New York.^[2]

During the First World War, he worked in France as a hospital orderly which led to a nervous breakdown, and he was found dead at Robin Hood's Bay, Yorkshire in 1917.

Productions

H. H. Davies's Mrs. Gorringe's Necklace was produced at the People's Theatre, Royal Archade, Newcastle upon Tyne, by the Clarion Theatre in October 1923.

References

1. Hubert Henry Davies at the Internet Movie Database
2. Internet Broadway Database: Hubert Henry Davies Credits on Broadway

External links

• Information from the 2007 Finborough Theatre production of The Mollusc