Hobsons Choice

Hobson's Choice, by Harold
Brighouse

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hobson's Choice, by Harold
Brighouse Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to
check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or
redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project
Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the
header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the
eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how
the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a
donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since
1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of
Volunteers!*****
Title: Hobson's Choice
Author: Harold Brighouse
Release Date: August, 2004 [EBook #6347] [Yes, we are more than

one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on November 29,
2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOBSON'S
CHOICE ***

Produced by Delphine Lettau, Charles Franks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.

HOBSON'S CHOICE
A Lancashire Comedy in Four Acts
BY
HAROLD BRIGHOUSE

Hobson's Choice was originally produced in America. Its first English
production took place on June 22, 1916, at the Apollo Theatre, London,
with the following cast:
ALICE HOBSON . . . . . . . . Miss Lydia Bilbrooke. MAGGIE
HOBSON . . . . . . . . Miss Edyth Goodall. VICKEY HOBSON . . . . . . . .
Miss Hilda Davies. ALBERT PROSSER . . . . . . . . Mr. Reginald Fry.
HENRY HORATIO HOBSON . . . . . . Mr. Norman McKinnel. MRS.
HEPWORTH . . . . . . . . Miss Dora Gregory. TIMOTHY WADLOW
(TUBBY). . . . . . Mr. Sydney Paxton. WILLIAM MOSSOP . . . . . . . .
Mr. Joe Nightingale. JIM HEELER . . . . . . . . . Mr. J. Cooke Beresford.

ADA FIGGINS . . . . . . . . . Miss Mary Byron. FRED
BEENSTOCK . . . . . . . . Mr. Jefferson Gore. DR.
MACFARLANE . . . . . . . . Mr. J. Fisher White.
The play produced by MR. NORMAN McKINNEL.
The SCENE is Salford, Lancashire, and the period is 1880.
ACT I. Interior of HOBSON'S Shop in Chapel Street.
ACT II. The same scene.
ACT III. WILL MOSSOP'S Shop.
ACT IV. Living-room of HOBSON'S Shop.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE.
Acknowledgements are made to Mr. William Armstrong, Director of
the Liverpool Repertory Company, for allowing his prompt copy to be
used in preparing this acting edition.
[Illustration] Red Walls, Brown oaken dado. T. gas bracket over
counter. Turkey red curtains half up window. No carpet. Small rug at
door R. Shoes on counter and showcases. Hanging laces.
Advertisements. Boot polishes. Brushes. Brown paper on counter.
Clogs in rows under shelves R. C. Black cane furniture and rush-
bottomed. Heavy leather armchair. Piece of rough leather on shelves.
The trap is eminently desirable. However, should the stage used have
no trap, the work-room may be supposed to be off-stage, with a door up
Right.

HOBSON'S CHOICE
ACT 1

The SCENE represents the interior of HOBSON'S Boot Shop in Chapel
Street, Bedford. The shop windows and entrance from street occupy the
left side. Facing the audience is the counter, with exhibits of boots and
slippers, behind which the wall is fitted with racks containing boot
boxes. Cane chairs in front of counter. There is a desk down L. with a
chair. A door R. leads up to the house. In the centre of the stage is a
trap leading to the cellar where work is done. There are no elaborate
fittings. Gas brackets in the windows and walls. The business is
prosperous, but to prosper in Salford in 1880 you did not require the
elaborate accessories of a later day. A very important customer goes
for fitting into HOBSON'S sitting-room. The rank and file use the cane
chairs in the shop, which is dingy but business-like. The windows
exhibit little stock, and amongst what there is clogs figure prominently.
Through the windows comes the bright light of noon.
Sitting behind the counter are HOBSON'S two younger daughters,
ALICE, R., who is twenty-three, and VICTORIA, L., who is
twenty-one, and very pretty. ALICE is knitting and VICTORIA is
reading. They are in black, with neat black aprons. The door R. opens,
and MAGGIE enters. She is HOBSON'S eldest daughter, thirty.
ALICE. Oh, it's