The Mormon and His Wives

A play using stereotypical tropes to appeal to the masses

When ‘The Mormon and His Wives’ debuted in Hulme, Manchester, England, on 3 June 1912, it did at a time of heightened animosity towards Latter-day Saints around the country.¹ The show, written by H. F. Housden, was first performed at the Junction Theatre by Oswald Cray and his performance company and was later taken around the country.² A second cycle of performances occurred in the 1920s which proved no less popular. Next to one advert for a show a newspaper stated that the show was a ‘Sensational Play on the Burning Question of the day’.³

The play was an opportunity for Oswald Cray to act and he often reprised the role of a fiery curate who would denounce ‘the doctrine of polygamy,’ despite the fact it had been fully refuted by Latter-day Saints by that time. They proved successful and made him good money.⁴

H. F. Housden

The author of the play was Harry Fleming Housden. Despite being a prolific playwright little is known about his life. In the 1891 census he was recorded as being an “Actor Manager” born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1868. At the time of the 1891 census, he was in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, with his brother, Clarence, and another actor. In 1911 Harry appears in the census again in Southampton and was described as a playwright, but his birthplace was listed as being London. Harry was married and had one living child, Ernest. Since at least 1886 he had been involved in acting and travelling around the country to perform in theatrical productions.⁵

Although we know little about Harry, who professionally went by H. F. Housden, he apparently had some experience or interaction with Latter-day Saints. In newspapers it was repeatedly advertised that the play was ‘Founded on fact’ and ‘Will Cause a Sensation.’⁶ In one article it was noted that the show ‘…has been praised by the clergy in every town visited.’⁷ It sought to mock and deride the church, its missionaries, and its members using popular stereotypes.

The Programme

Ten years after it debuted, ‘The Mormon and His Wives’ was still being performed in theatres. From the week commencing 31 July 1922, the play was performed twice nightly at the Olympia in Shoreditch, London, by Oswald Cray and his company. A programme was offered for sale at 2 pence and it provides remarkable detail of not just who performed but also the structure and content of the play. What follows is a copy of the programme and a typed version with some of the music that was featured where it has been possible to locate.

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1. Overture

Two Step “Pinkie”…Brockman

Musical Director…H. Renton Gardner

2. Oswald Cray

Presents his Company, in his Sensational Play, entitled:

THE MORMON AND HIS WIVES.

By H. F. Housden.

The Rev. Dudley Wade of “Holy Trinity,” Weatherfoot…..Mr. PAUL NEVILLE

Josiah Beamish, a Mormon Missionary…..Mr. ALFRED STRETTON

Silas Mellish, a Danite…..Mr EDWARD CUDD

Michael Malony, a Butcher…..Mr. JAMES O’MULLANE

Jerry Ackroyd, a Mill Hand…..Mr. H. REDGWELL

Jasper Weirdale, Nelly’s Guardian…..Mr. LOUIS WESTON

Zachariah Pap, a Mormon Elder….Mr. ERNEST WATTS

Crawkins, a Salt Lake Flunkey…..Mr. GEORGE OWEN

P. C. Skinner…..Mr. LESLIE HOWARD

Osprey, an Indian Chief…..Mr. HUGH WALLACE

White Hawk, a full Blood…..Mr. FREDERICK CHARLES

Great Leap…..By HIMSELF

Fleet Deer…..By HIMSELF

Fearless Fox…Special Braves of Osprey’s Tribe…..By HIMSELF

Mighty Moon…Special Braves of Osprey’s Tribe…..By HIMSELF

Sharp Spear…Special Braves of Osprey’s Tribe…..By HIMSELF

Great Bull…..By HIMSELF

Scalp Hunter…..By HIMSELF

Mrs. Weirdale, Jasper’s Wife……Miss BEATRICE ANNERSLEY

Rosie May, a Mill Hand…..Miss LILIAN LORRAINE

Julia Breamish, one of Josiah’s Wives…..Miss EDITH GREGORY

Silver Bell, Osprey’s Daughter…..Miss ENID BRANDON

Nellie Weirdale, a Mill Hand, Jaspers Ward…..Miss STELLA GLADWYNNE

Mill Hands, Indian Squaws, Servants, etc., etc.

Act 1

Scene 1: Outside Jasper’s Cottage, in the Village of Weatherfoot, Lancs. A happy Lancashire village invaded by Mormon pests. A tale of ruined lives and broken hearts. A battle of words and wit between the Parson and the Mormon for the mill girl. “Whose Church will you have, his or mine?”

Scene 2: A Corridor in the Mormon’s House

Scene 3: The Mormon House in Salt Lake Ciity. Josiah arrives with his victim. The plot of the Mormons to get the victim’s money. The Parson obtains leave of absence and arrives on the scene. The Mormon becomes a victim in his house. The curse of the secret system. The Danite is ready for his ghastly work.

Act 2

Scene 1: Outside the Indian Camp. The Parson and his sweetheart on their way to pay “Blood Atonement”. Doomed to death by the treachery of the Mormons.

Scene 2: The Indian Encampment. The Death Sentence. The Parson and his sweetheart victims of the Mormons, to die together. This is a replica of what actually occurred during and after the notorious MOUNTAIN MEADOW MASSACRE, when 120 harmless men, women and children, all emigrants to Utah, were murdered in cold blood by the Ute Indians and Mormons. The incidents enacted in this scene are what actually occurred to those who dare say anything against the Mormons.

Scene 3: On the way to Weatherfoot.

Scene 4: “Holy Trinity” Weatherfoot. Back again in England, but not out of danger. The Mormons hoist on their own petard. The web is woven round the pest and Weatherfoot is free for ever from the Mormon plague.

3. Musical Selections

Peggy O’Neil performed by Billy Jones and recorded in June 1921.

Vamping Rose performed and recorded in July 1922.

Reaction

Audiences loved the performances and they were a profitable undertaking for performers. There was, thanks to other media productions and contemporary interest, a desire and appetite for content that sought to counter the Latter-day Saints and to allegedly unmask the missionaries as charlatans and deviants. Many people bought into this narrative. As one contemporary noted:

So much has been heard of Mormonism recently that special interest attaches to the play that is being produced at the Grand Theatre, Rawtenstall, this week. The author has made a special study of his work, and places before his auditors the truth concerning this campaign. Nothing that can make the play a complete chain of condemnatory evidence has been missed, and the effectiveness of the work up to the present may be gauged from the fact that the author and producer of the piece have been threatened with serious consequences if they continued to enlighten the minds of the ignorant.⁸

The likelihood of any threats having been made by Church leaders is negligible and would have accomplished nothing. The show caused considerable interest in the Church and raised its profile, but there is no evidence to suggest it was seen to be as a “knockout blow”. The show utilised old and existing stereotypes about the Church to make money meanwhile the Church with its missionaries and members sought to weather the storm of opposition to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

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It is thanks to donations from readers like you that I was able to purchase this incredibly rare programme and reconstruct our understanding of this play.

If you would like to contribute to this effort you can find out by clicking here.

1. The Stage Year Book, 1914 (London: “The Stage” Offices, 1914), p. 196; and James Perry, ‘We Will Kill You Tonight’: Opposition in Sunderland,’ available at: https://uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/we-will-kill-you-tonight-opposition-in-sunderland.

2. ‘New Play at the Junction,’ Manchester Evening News, 1 June 1912, p. 3.

3. ‘Cinema,’ Saffron Walden Weekly News, 12 August 1921, p. 7.

4. ‘“The Mormon and His Wives,”’ Derby Evening Telegraph, 7 November 1939, p. 2.

5. ‘Dramatic Performance at the County Asylum,’ Essex County Chronicle, 19 November 1886, p. 8; ‘Performance of “My Sweetheart” at Brentwood,’ Essex Newsman, 10 May 1887, p. 2; and ‘Miss Maggie Morton’s Comedie Anglaise Company,’ North Wales Chronicle, 20 August 1887, p. 5.

6. ‘Public Notices,’ The Courier, 11 October 1922, p. 6.

7. ‘“The Mormon and His Wives”,’ The Cornishman, 19 October 1921, p. 5.

8. ‘Grand Theatre, Rawtenstall,’ Rossendale Free Press, 28 December 1912, p. 3.