Gertrude E. Jennings

Gertrude Eleanor Jennings (1877–1958) was a British theatrical author of the early twentieth century who is notable for her one act plays.

A daughter of British born Louis John Jennings, one-time editor of the New York Times (1870–1875) and subsequently MP for Stockport, and of American actress Madeleine Henriques, she began her career as an actress touring for Ben Greet’s company, also working under the name of Gertrude Henriques. Her plays were published by Samuel French Ltd. in London under the names of Gertrude E. Jennings, Gertrude Jennings, or G. E. Jennings.

She lived most of her adult life in The Boltons, SW10, in the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, and she died aged 80 on September 28th 1958 at The Knoll House, in Fittleworth, Midhurst, Sussex. She never married.

In 1914, her publisher Samuel French Ltd issued a collection of four of her early plays with the title Four One Act Plays, which included "The Rest Cure," "Between the Soup and the Savoury," "The Pros and Cons," and "Acid Drops."

In his introduction to her play Five Birds In a Cage (1915) in the Fourth Series of One Act Plays of Today (Harrap, 1928), the editor J. W. Marriott wrote:

“Miss Gertrude Jennings is a prolific writer of one act plays, and is immensely popular for a multitude of reasons. No humorist is more fully aware than she that people begin to be comic when they get into an awkward predicament, and as the situation becomes more and more hopeless the fun grows more furious. Her characters are clearly defined, and usually broadly contrasted in temperament as well as in social position. The scenes are invariably plausible incidents in present day life, and Miss Jennings intensifies effects and adds a touch of farce. Her play “Between the Soup and the Savoury” which was included in the third series of ‘’One Act Plays of Today’’, has pathos as well as laughter. “The Young Person In Pink” is the best known of her longer plays.”

Five Birds In A Cage was broadcast on the radio in the first year of the British Broadcasting Corporation on 29 November 1923, with subsequent productions on 11 April 1924 and 23 July 1926.

Jennings included issues of women's suffrage and equality in some of her plays, notably in A Woman’s Influence.

• Between the Soup and the Savoury - a play in one act (1910). A touching comedy about kitchen servants, first produced at the Playhouse, 1910.
• Our Nervous System - a play in one act (1911), subsequently retitled The Pros and Cons. A comedy of marriage troubles, first produced at the Playhouse, London, 1911.
• A Woman’s Influence - a play in one act (1912)
• The Rest Cure - a play in one act (1914). A comedy set in a rest home in Kensington, first produced at the Vaudeville Theatre, 1914.
• Acid Drops - a play in one act (1914). A comedy set in a workhouse ward, first produced at the Royalty Theatre, 1914.
• Five Birds in a Cage - a play in one act (1915). A comedy of class relations in a broken-down lift, set in an underground railway station in London. First produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London, 1915.
• The Bathroom Door - a farce in one act (1916). A comedy set in a hotel corridor, first produced at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, 1916.
• Poached Eggs and Pearls - a canteen comedy in two scenes (1917). A light romantic comedy set in a working men's club in the East End of London during the First World War. First produced at the Apollo Theatre, 1916.
• Allotments - a play in one act (1918)
• At the Ribbon Counter - a play in one act (1919). A comedy set in the ribbon department of a shop.
• Keeping Up Appearances (1919). First produced at the Savoy Theatre, 1915.
• No Servants - a comedy in one act (1919). A comedy about dependence on servants, first produced at the Prince's Theatre, London, 1917.
• Waiting for the 'Bus - a play in one act (1919). A comedy of social class at a bus stop, first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, 1917.
• Elegant Edward - a comedy in one act (with E Boulton) (1919)
• I'm Sorry - It's Out! - a comedy in one act (1920)
• The New Poor - a farce in one act (1920)
• In the Cellar - a farce in one act (1920)
• Bobby Settles Down - a comedy (1920)
• The Young Person in Pink - a comedy in three acts (1921). A matinee performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1920 featured Leslie Howard, and John Gielgud appeared in a RADA production in 1923. Subsequently filmed as The Girl Who Forgot in 1939.
• Me and my Diary - a comedy in one act (1921)
• Love Among the Paint Pots - a comedy in three acts (1922)
• Calais to Dover - a farce in one act (1922)
• Isabel, Edward and Anne - a comedy in three acts (1923)
• Cat's Claws - a comedy in one act (1923)
• Have You Anything to Declare? - a farce in one act (1926) - the first performance took place at the [St James Theatre], March 26, 1926, by students of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, directed by Kenneth Barnes and produced by Norman Page.
• Spot - a comedy for two people (1927)
• Scraps - a comedy in one act (1928)
• Helping Hands - a farce in one act (1930)
• These Pretty Things - a farcical comedy in three acts (1930). First produced at the Garrick Theatre, 1928.
• The Bride - a comedy in one act (1931)
• Pearly Gates - a comedy in one act (1932)
• Family Affairs - a comedy in 3 acts (1935). A performance at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1934 featured Margaret Lockwood.
• In The Black-Out - a comedy in one act (1942)
• Good Neighbours - play in one act (1942)
• Whiskers and Co. - a pantomime in three acts (1943)
• A Sleeping Beauty - pantomime in two acts (1944)
• Too Much Bluebeard - a farce in three scenes for three women (1944)
• In the Fog - a farce in one act (1947). Not one of the author's best works; a description of the earlier play In The Black-Out suggests that this is the same play given a new title.
• Bubble and Squeak - play in three acts (1947)
• The Olympian - a comedy in three acts (1955)
• Happy Memories - play in three acts (1955)
• Fireworks
• Aladdin's Cave

Film: The Girl Who Forgot, 1940, directed by Adrian Brunel.