The Swish of the Curtain

"The Swish of the Curtain" is a children's novel by Pamela Brown (1924 - 1989). It was begun when the author was 14 but was not published until 1941.

Plot summary

It tells the story of seven young people in three different families who form an amateur theatrical group, the Blue Door Theatre Company. The children write, produce, direct and act in their own plays, each of them harnessing a particular talent. Nigel designs scenery, for example; Jeremy composes music; while Sandra makes costumes. During the course of the book each of the young people realises a particular ambition. It is "Bulldog", who shines in comic roles, who realises his ambition to create the elusive "swish of the curtain". At the book's climax, the "Blue Doors" enter a drama contest which they have to win in order to be allowed to attend dramatic school to realise their dream of a career in the professional theatre.

The series

Brown wrote four sequels:
*"Maddy Alone" - 1945
*"Golden Pavements" - 1947
*"Blue Door Venture" - 1949
*"Maddy Again - 1956

Publication

Until recently "The Swish of the Curtain" was the only one of the "Blue Doors" series to have been republished after the 1970s. However, recently "The Swish of the Curtain" (2006) and "Maddy Alone" (2007) were republished by Longwater Books suggesting that affordable reprints of the remaining three titles might be available in the future. As the remaining titles have not been published for many years, original copies of the 1940s editions are now quite valuable. Copies of the books are very rare, and very hard to find.

The Characters

*Nigel Halford
*Percy Halford ("Bulldog")
*Victoria Jane Halford ("Vicky")
*Jeremy Darwin
*Lynette Darwin ("Lyn")
*Sandra Fayne
*Madeleine Fayne ("Maddy")

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

In 1980, the book was adapted for BBC television. Sarah Greene starred in the production as Sandra Fayne.