Davy Jones's Dinner
Subtitle: A Welsh comedy in one act.
Series: Miller's medley -- 2/1961
Publisher: J. Garnet Miller
Published: 1955
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
First sentence: "It is a bright autumn morming.FRED THE LAMPS,a boy of 16 or thereabouts,is sitting on the Locker polishing a double barrel shot gun.Inspired by the departing whistle of the 10.15 goods,he croons one of his 'home made' verses,adapting the grammar to make the rhyme....

FRED (singing)
"The Great Western's Cock Canary....."
Description: The signal box at Pentremawr,a lonely station on a slope of the (Brecon) Beacons between Newport and Brecon.Signalman Davy Jones is becoming increasingly frustrated by a pheasant,from the nearby estate,wreaking havoc in the vegetable plot next to his signal box.Egged on by young Fred,Davy shoots the bird with his unlicenced shotgun.The sound of the shot is heard by the local constable P.C.Prosser,but also by the local Squire and J.P.,Major Pryce-Powell and his gamekeeper,William Morgan.
Local widow,Liza Hargest (who has a certain romantic interest in Davy Jones) is already in the signal box with her basket of shopping,and seeing the predicament Davy Jones is in as the three men approach the signal box,swaps some of her shopping for the dead pheasant,before making her exit,leaving on a train with the evidence.The Squire,Morgan the gamekeeper and P.C.Prosser,suspecting Davy Jones has shot one of the Squire's pheasants,and without a warrant,search the signal box in vain,only to find a joint of pork that Liza had exchanged with the pheasant.
Davy Jones then manages to extract more than just apologies from the three characters,but the price Davy eventually has to pay is to very reluctantly agree to Liza Hargest inviting herself to Sunday dinner,where roast pheasant will be on the menu.
Notes: First performed by the Llyn Safaddan Players in 1955,the play went on to win various awards at the British Drama League Festival of that year,with a performance at the Scala Theatre in London.The play also won the New Play Award at the 1955 Welwyn Garden City Festival.
Broadcasts:
BBC Radio Welsh Home Service: 1 July 1955
BBC Radio Home Service:13 July 1955
BBC TV Live outside broadcast of play from the Glantaf Secondary Modern School in Llandaff North,Cardiff:13 Sept 1955.

CAST:

FRED the lamps.
DAVY JONES the 'box.
LIZA HARGEST a local widow.
POTTER an evacuee from London.
PROSSER the policeman.
MAJOR PRYCE-POWELL,J.P.the local squire.
MORGAN the gamekeeper.
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