The White Heather is an 1897 melodrama by playwrights
Cecil Raleigh and
Henry Hamilton. The climactic scene of the play portrays a fight between two underwater divers.
Background
The play debuted at
Drury Lane on 16 September 1897, the first produced by new managing director
Arthur Collins. Typical of Drury Lane shows of the period, the elaborate production ran for four hours, and included scenes set at the Stock Exchange,
Battersea Park,
Boulter's Lock, and the
Devonshire House Ball of 1897.[1][2][3][4] It had an initial run of 91 performances until 15 December 1897 and returned for 43 more performances from 12 May to 25 June 1898.[5] The
Princess's Theatre revived the play in 1899 with
Eily Malyon in the cast for 31 performances.[6]
Upon its debut in London,
Charles Frohman's London representative
William Lestocq immediately acquired the American rights.[7] The play had a successful 184-performance New York run at the
Academy of Music from 22 November 1897 to 30 April 1898.[8][9][10][11]
The play had its
Broadway debut at the
Academy of Music on November 22, 1897. It ran at that theatre for 187 performances; closing on April 30, 1898.[12] The production was directed by Joseph Humphreys and used sets by the painter
Ernest Albert.[12]