Philip, the protagonist in Of Human Bondage, didn't have a lot of friends when he was young, so he spent a lot of his time reading. One of the things he read was The Honorable Crichton, which I discovered was by James M. Barrie, the guy who came up with Peter Pan. Then I discovered that The Honorable Crichton is actually a play. Well, I thought I'd not read a play since college, but realized that I was actually in a couple of plays, musicals actually, after I'd settled down and begun having children. So, I must have read those "plays". Whatever, I figured that one of these days, I should read a play or two, and now I have.

So this play is about an upper-class British family that has an oh-so proper butler, Crichton (sort of like Jeeves, I suppose). He knows his place, which is below the titled family members, and above the footmen and scullery maids. All works like clock work in the household. But then, they go off on a sailing trip and become stranded on a desert island. Once the party finds themselves in a state of nature, the natural order changes. And so forth. Basically it's a light comedy, and not at all bad. I spent a lot of time casting the play with the various regulars involved in my town's community theater. Unfortunately, the ideal actor for the role of Crichton died a year ago. ( )

A quick return to a play last read at school around 50 years ago. A satire on the topic of class in society - the butler and the Lord trade places when shipwrecked on a Pacific Island, where the butler's abilities allow the group to thrive in the wilderness, followed by some uncomfortable times on return to England. The scenario is clearly dated, but one could imagine an updated version set in society today where rank is not inherited, but where the children of the well off are given a healthy nudge forward in life, compared to their poorer fellow cohort members. ( )

Firstly, this would be quite difficult to produce, because there are too many characters. Second, there are too many tedious stage directions (yes especially for the acting edition). Third, the trajectory of the play is muddied. Crichton is a proper butler, á la Downton Abbey. Lord Loam, his master, has a notion that the underclass is just as worthy as the upper class, and has a tea for his servants every month to prove it. Crichton despises this charade. In the second act, however, Loam, his daughters, Crichton and a few more of the household retinue are stranded on a desert island, and because Crichton is the only one who can assure their survival, he becomes the lord of the party. When the party is rescued a few years later, the upstairs denizens, as they return to their previous London roles, no longer entertain ideas of "equality" and Crichton, having proven himself to himself, resigns. What is the point, here? The play certainly doesn't upend the class system--or even challenge it. Drawing room comedies are the worst! ( )

M Barrie is mainly remembered today for his wonderful Peter Pan stories, but his literary talents extended far afield. He wrote this play in 1902 as a social commentary. In it, a haughty, Victorian family is presented, with their upstairs/downstairs, ironclad class prejudices. No-one is more of a supporter of this state of affairs than their butler, Crichton. But, when they are all shipwrecked on a desert island, a new social order is born - what was natural in England is unnatural on the island. And, if they should be rescued, what will happen then?

This play makes an absolutely wonderful read. Highly recommended. ( )

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