Karel Capek's "R.U.R." Basil Rathbone / Clifford Mollison 1923 London Card Flyer

Description

This is a rare advertising card (flyer) promoting the
Original London production of the KAREL CAPEK Fantastic Melodrama "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots") at St. Martin's Theatre in London. (The London production opened April 24th, 1923 at St. Martin's
Theatre
and ran for 126 performances.) ..... The London cast included BASIL RATHBONE, CLIFFORD MOLLISON, AUSTIN TREVOR, BEATRIX THOMSON, GILBERT RITCHIE, FRANCES CARSON, MAUREEN SHAW, CHARLES V. FRANCE, BREMBER WILLS, MALCOLM KEEN, ADA KING, LESLIE BANKS, OLGA LINDO, IAN HUNTER, LAWRENCE BASKCOMB, LESLIE PERRINS, ALAN HOWLAND, CHARLES CORNOCK, ROY LEAKER, HUGH WILLIAMS, GEORGE COWLEY, HUGH SINCLAIR, ERNEST DIGGES, DAVID FRANKLIN, GEOFFREY DUNLOP, FREDERICK FANTON, CYRIL McLAGLAN and CASWELL GARTH ..... Historical note: "R.U.R" is a
science fiction
play
originally performed
in the
Czech language.
"R.U.R." stands for
Rossum's Universal Robots
, an English phrase used as the subtitle in the Czech original. The play introduced the word "
robot
"
to the English language and to
science fiction
as a whole. The play premiered in Prague in 1921 and was translated from Czech into English by Paul Selver in 1922. The American première was at the
Garrick Theatre
in New York City on October 9th, 1922, where it ran for 184 performances, a production in which
Spencer Tracy
and
Pat O'Brien
played robots in their
Broadway
debuts. London first saw the play at St. Martin's Theatre on April 24th, 1923, a production that ran for 126 performances and included Basil Rathbone as "Harry Domain". The play introduced the word
Robot
which displaced older words such as "
automaton
" or
"
android
" in languages around the world. Karel Čapek named his brother
Josef
as the true inventor of the word.
Isaac Asimov
,
author of the
Robot Series
of books and creator of the
Three Laws of Robotics
, stated: "Capek's play is, in my own opinion, a terribly bad one, but it is immortal for that one word. It contributed the word 'robot' not only to English but, through English, to all the languages in which science fiction is now written." (Wikipedia) ..... CREDITS: Book by KAREL CAPEK; English Version by PAUL SELVER and NIGEL PLAYFAIR; Sets and Costumes designed by GEORGE W. HARRIS; Directed by BASIL DEAN; Produced by THE REANDEAN COMPANY
..... DETAILS: Advertising handbills (heralds) were distributed or inserted into the playbills of other productions to help generate ticket sales for upcoming shows and events. This single page, two-sided card measures approx. 3 1/2" X 5 1/2" inches, is printed on a heavy card stock and includes production credits and performance times on the front and a partial cast list on the backside ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light edge wear, this rare advertising card is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.