Original Listing Description

eBay This is a rare advertising herald (flyer) promoting the six-night, Provincial Tour engagement of the KAREL CAPEK Fantastic Melodrama "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots") at the King's Theatre in Hammersmith, England beginning September 24th, 1923. (The Original West End production opened April 24th, 1923 at St. Martin's Theatre in London and ran for 126 performances before going on the road.) ..... The cast included CYRIL HARDINGHAM, DOROTHY HOPE, CECIL TOWNSEND, NELL CARTER, FRANK ADAIR, FREDERICK ANNERLEY, EVE McCARTHY, GEORGE COWLEY, MAY WARD and ALAN COTTER ..... 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 ?apek 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; Adapted by NIGEL PLAYFAIR; Sets and Costumes designed by GEORGE W. HARRIS; Directed by BASIL DEAN; Produced by DEE CEE TOURS by arrangement with 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 four page flyer measures 5 5/8" X 8 3/4" inches and includes production credits and performance dates on the front, excerpts from a number of reviews and a production photo on the inside pages and an announcement of upcoming engagements on the backside ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a light crease across the middle and minor edge wear, this rare advertising herald 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.

Note: This item has been sold and is no longer available. This page serves as a historical price reference for Playbill collectors and appraisers.