The Glove by Peregrine Jay
Author: Peregrine Jay
Staged: The Dolphin Theatre
Source book: Death at the Dolphin or Killer Dolphin
Peregrine Jay visits the Dolphin Theatre, bomb-damaged, and derelict for 25 years, with a view to restoring the building. He falls through a hole in the stage and is on the point of drowning in stinking, stagnant water when he is improbably rescued by the extremely wealthy Mr Vassily Conducis, who owns the property and is considering redeveloping the site.
For reasons of his own Mr Conducis shows Peregrine a beautiful cheverel (goat kid leather) glove embroidered with roses in gold and scarlet and with a tarnished gold tassel, together with a note asserting that the glove had belonged to the Poet (Shakespeare), and a slip of paper on which was written “mayde by my father for my sonne on his XI birthedy and never worn butte ync”.
Somehow Peregrine persuades Mr Conducis to have the Dolphin restored and, inspired by the antique glove, he writes a play, The Glove, about Shakespeare, his much loved son Hamnet, the Dark Lady, Mr W H, and the special gloves given to the boy by his grandfather. In the play Shakespeare is persuaded to give his dead son’s gloves to the Dark Lady.
The Glove is a success.
The production designer, Jeremy Jones, is permitted to study the precious glove in order to make a realistic copy to be used in the play. He also makes a very careful replica which he substitutes for the genuine glove before it is enshrined in a secure display case at the theatre.
When Mr Conducis announces he is selling the glove to a foreign buyer, an attempt is made to steal it from the theatre. The night watchman is accidentally killed and the child actor playing Hamnet injured. Superintendent Alleyn and Inspector Fox are called in to investigate.
Also mentioned is a play called Cellar Stairs and a book published in 1860 called The Buskin and the Boards. It’s all about contemporary theatres and actors: terribly badly written but has some nice pictures, including a good one of the Dolphin theatre. Emily found it on a sixpenny rack in a second hand bookshop. In today’s money that would be 2½ p. And since we don’t have half pennies any more, perhaps twopence.
NB William Shakespeare’s father was a glover. Shakespeare’s son Hamnet died at the age of 11, possibly of the plague.
 |
| Embroidered glove images borrowed from the internet |
Comments