The Old Lady Shows Her Medals

The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, by Scottish playwright James M. Barrie (1860-1937). The play concerns four charwomen gathered for tea in the grungy basement apartment of Mrs. Dowey. The chief topic of conversation among the ladies is their sons, all off fighting in the war. Mrs. Dowey makes a point of showing off the letters her son has written to her. It turns out, however, that she picked a name from a newspaper article and invented him as her son. The story unfolds as this person turns up and a mother-son relationship develops between them before he returns to the war.

Presented in South Africa by the Johannesburg Repertory Players (The REPS) in 1929, starring Marjorie Evans, Constance Smedley, Ethel M. Ainge, Jean McLaren, Fred Goodman, Maurice Horwitz.