An isolated event or part of a larger pattern?
On the 17th of October, 1928, a single performance of an obscure play set into motion a series of events that, according to some in attendance, were ultimately to blame for much of the darkest part of the history of the 20th century. Whether or not this is true, much of the details of that night are now lost in the distance. A few newspaper reports and individual stories have survived, and have been carefully documented by Tim Wiseman in his exploration of this incident (Tatters of the King, Chaosium press, 2006).
The play was originally scheduled for a 2-week run at the Scala, a small venue in London's West end theater district. Due to the events surrounding the opening night performance, however, the play's run was cancelled, and ultimately the theater was closed and abandoned. The connection to the events that followed, as documented by Mr. Wiseman, is less clear. An article in the Times of London from the 18th of October is illustrative:
"Avant-Garde Nonsense Causes a Riot
The theatre-going public of London should be thankful at the news that there are to be no more performances of “Carcosa – or the Queen and the Stranger”, a “Fantasy in two acts” which had its disastrous premiere last night at the Scala Theatre.
The play, written as a first foray into drama by popular novelist Talbot Estus, and performed by the well-regarded amateur theatre company known as ‘the Group’ was, in the opinion of this reviewer, tedious, confusing and extraordinarily pretentious. The audience seem to have agreed, and in some cases to have found its dreary demands upon their time quite intolerable, as upon the final curtain a riot broke out in the theatre, resulting in several arrests and at least one badly broken nose.
The play, for what it's worth, focussed on the royal family of an undefined alien city, their squabbles over the succession, and the arrival of a mysterious masked stranger who apparently was supposed to symbolise some concept or other. The work ‘climaxed’, if that is the word, with the ludicrous arrival of ’The King in Yellow’, a demon-king character, played (badly) by Estus himself, whose motives and significance were quite lost on the poor audience.
The cast, it must be said, did the best they could with the poor material, and special mention must be made of Hannah Keith, who in the role of Queen Cassilda managed to create a few moments of genuine interest in a sea of pointless dreariness.
There remains hope for ‘the Group’, but little for Estus. Let us hope he returns to fiction, and leaves drama for those more suited to the task."
The Aftermath
The 'riot' as reported by the Times, resulted in few injuries and no serious physical damage to the venue, but ultimately affected the reputation of the Scala so severely that it was forced to shutter its doors in early 1929.
Wiseman was able to track down diaries, letters and other bits of information from people who actually attended the play, and notes that there was actually a small opening night reception afterwards that was, understandably, poorly-attended. A few of the audience did linger for a time, however and left behind their impressions of the night. It was an awkward gathering, made all the more so by the late appearance of the author of the play, Mr. Talbot Estus, who gave a prepared speech in which he noted that he had adapted the play from a French copy of The King in Yellow. While the cast expressed shock over the reaction of the audience to the play, Mr. Estus seemed less bothered by it, and mentioned that great art should inspire some fervor in those who witness it.
There is no indication that the play was ever performed again in this form, or by this acting company. Mr. Estus faded into obscurity afterwards and aside from the five novels he had written prior to Carcosa, nothing else survives. Nearly all internet searches for his work yields results that point to Mr. Wiseman's book.
The subsequent events that Wiseman suggests are the result of the play are less clearly connected, but he does an excellent job of presenting his evidence in an entertaining and readable format. He speculates that the play was somehow involved in a series of murders in London and rural England, and a strange storm later that year in Scotland. He ventures further afield, and explores possible connections to events in Italy and Nepal in the following years. These allegations will be reviewed in future entries in this series.
While The Yellow Sign is an original play based on The King in Yellow, a book of stories written by R.W. Chambers, we do not claim to have found or read any translations of the actual play. It doesn't actually exist, or so they say. However that may be, we sincerely hope that you will consider attending our (hopefully) more successful opening night, November 11, 2022 at Playhouse in the Park, Murray KY.
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