Diana of Dobson’s
By Cicely Hamilton
Directed by Eleanor Reissa
May 4th 2001 through June 3rd 2001
Where:
The Mint Theater
311 West 43rd St, 5th floor
The success of DIANA OF DOBSON’S turned an unknown writer by the name of Cicely Hamilton into the toast of the English stage. Hamilton’s clever manipulation of “cup and saucer” conventions of the London stage offered theatergoers a romantic comedy that was at the same time thoroughly illuminating and thought provoking.
Hamilton’s biting comedy turns the Cinderella myth on its head, telling the story of a fiercely intelligent Edwardian shop assistant who briefly escapes a life of drudgery with a small legacy—but who cannot escape the social and economic strictures that oppress her. The play was an unexpected hit of the 1908 London season, yet its miscast New York transfer the same year flopped. It was never seen in Gotham again until the Mint’s sparkling 2001 production.
“Surprisingly fresh entertainment”1 wrote D.J.R. Bruckner in the New York Times. Donald Lyons of theNew York Post called DIANA, “a sprightly, witty, heartbreaking mix of Shaw and social reality….An exciting discovery of the Mint, beautifully acted, and remarkably moving.”2