Catalogue Number
NMLH.1990.71.41
Object Name
Booklet
Title
CINDERELLA: A FAIRY TALE PLAY WITH ORIGINAL MUSIC
People
Adams, Marion L.
Philpot, Stephen R.
Egerton, Edwin.
Creator(s)
Description
Marion L. Adams and Stephen R. Philpot were composers who worked regularly together in the late 19th century, and frequently collaborated on other musical plays for schoolchildren. Cinderella is part of a series of âBooks for Bairns,â adaptations of popular contemporary childrenâs tales commissioned by the publisher, Edwin Egerton & Co.
It is likely that plays such as these formed one of the extra-curricular activities of Socialist Sunday schools. The playful performative aspect of these activities would have been a welcome relief to the monotony of state education, from which it was customary in the pre-war period to complete at the age of 13 to join the workforce. Socialist Sunday Schools peaked prior to the World War One, with a total of 120 established in the UK by 1912.
Lyrics to songs carefully chosen, echo parts of the Socialist 10 Commandments. For example:
âIâm Tired of washing the dishes â Heigh âho!
To the gay palace ball Iâd like to go!
of scouring and scrubbing,
Of scolding and snubbing
Iâve had rather more than my share, you know!â
Compare the seventh Socialist commandment,
âRemember that all good things of the earth are the result of labour. Whoever enjoys them without working for them is stealing the bread of the worker.â
