# Low Life (de la Roche)

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A COMEDY IN ONE ACT
By
Mazo de la Roche
LOW LIFE
A Comedy in One Act
A Comedy in One Act
By
Mazo de la Roche
Author of
"Explorers of the Dawn", and "Possession"
TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF
CANADA LIMITED, AT ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE
MCMXXV
Copyright, Canada, 1925
By The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited
Printed in Canada
To
Mrs. James Warnock
LOW LIFE was submitted simultaneously to two competitions held respectively by the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire and the Dramatic Section of the Montreal Branch of the Canadian Authors' Association in the winter of 1925. It won first prize in both competitions.
LOW LIFE
A Comedy in One Act
CHARACTERS
Mrs. Benn, A charwoman.
Benn, her husband.
Linton, their non-paying guest.
Low Life was first acted in Trinity Memorial Hall, Montreal, on May 14th, 1925, by the Trinity Players, with the following cast:
It was staged under the direction of Mr. W. A. Tremayne.
LOW LIFE
A Comedy in One Act
SCENE.
A poor room at the top of a lodging house in a city in eastern Canada. The time is late afternoon on a foggy day in Spring, but the light coming in at the one window is sufficient for the two men who sit at a table in centre playing at cribbage. At the back of the room is a cupboard, a small stove, and a door leading into the passage. At the left, a door leading into a bedroom. At the right, under the window, a tumbled cot bed.
The men are intent upon their game. Benn, plump, common, good-natured, in shirt and trousers and stockinged feet; Linton, tall, shabby, with an air approaching gentility. He has the self-conscious melancholy of the fallen gentleman, but he really had not very far to fall.
Benn (hysterically).—Get out, I s'y. 'Ide in the passage. It's dark. Flatten yourself against the wall. She's at the second flight now! (He pushes Linton into the passage, softly shuts the door on him, and stands listening, with beating heart. The steps draw nearer; they pause for a moment out​side the door, then it opens, and Mrs. Benn, her baby on one arm, the other laden with packages, appears. She is a strong-looking woman, but her broad face is pale and tired. She is not very dirty, considering that she has been charing all day long. She throws her husband a half contemptuous, half-motherly look, as she marches past him to the table and begins to lay her packages thereon.)
Mrs. Benn.—Accidents? Accidents? I call them calamerties. (They eat in gloomy silence for a space except that Mrs. Benn ​ejaculates once—"Writin' 'is nime on my winder-pine! I like 'is cheek!" Then the warmth of the room, the pleasant lamplight, the good meal, have their effect, the atmosphere becomes more mellow.)
CURTAIN.
PRESS OPINIONS
. . . . Miss de la Roche in this little drama reveals herself as not only possessed of a keen imagination, sympathetic humanity, and a mastery of dialogue, but a fine dramatic sense. Simple in theme as the play is, the manner in which it held the audience from beginning to end is a fine tribute to the clever technique of the dramatist. . . . . .
—Wilfrid Still,
in The Montreal Herald.
. . . . . Mazo de la Roche's "Low Life" has a virility that is arresting. Her characters are boldly drawn and clearly outlined, and the action moves with a steady rhythm. . . . . .
—S. Morgan Powell,
in Montreal Star.
The prize winner . . . . . is easily the best one act play that has come out of a Canadian contest. . . . It is "Low Life" by Mazo de la Roche of Toronto . . . "Low Life" in its quiet unobtrusive way stands out as the first worthwhile play that has won the prize in a Canadian contest. . . . . "Low Life" has already been staged in Montreal with great success . . . acted well . . . having real character as well as literary quality.
—Fred Jacob,
in The Mail and Empire.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1961, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 63 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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