Laburnum Grove [antikvár]

ACT I The Scene is the living room in the Radferns' house, "Ferndale Laburnum Grove, Shooters Green-a suburb in North London. The time is Sunday evening in late summer, still daylight at first. On the back wall from right to left are a small window, then a door that can lead directly into a greenhouse, then a larger window looking out on to a back garden. In the right wall, down stage, is a door into a small hall, leading to the front door of the house and the stairs. In the left wall is a door leading into the kitchen. Again st this wall, beyond the door, is a small sideboard with whisky decanter, soda syphon, and several bottles of beer on it. In the corner, between the left wall and the large window, is an óval or round table, on easy castors, that is laid for supper but is covered with two cloths. In the opposite corner is a small table on which is a telephone, and near it a loud-speaker and wireless set. There are one or two easy chairs and several dining-room chairs in the room, which is brightly, comfortably furnished in a suburban style. When the curtain rises Mrs. Baxley and Elsie are discovered seated at a small card table in the centre. Mrs. Baxley is a woman in her forties, dressed in a smart-shabby style, a mixture of silliness and calculating selfishness. Elsie is a pretty but rather petulant and discontented girl of twenty or so, the kind you see in the High Street of every fairly prosperous