Rookery Nook is a farce by the English playwright Ben Travers based on his own 1923 novel. It was first given at the Aldwych Theatre, London, the third in the series of twelve Aldwych farces presented by the actor-manager Tom Walls at the theatre between 1923 and 1933. Several of the actors formed a regular core cast for the Aldwych farces. The play depicts the complications that ensue when a young woman, dressed in pyjamas, seeks refuge from her bullying stepfather at a country house in the middle of the night.
Scene from original 1926 production, with, from left, Tom Walls, Robertson Hare and Ralph Lynn
Ben Travers was an English writer. His output includes more than 20 plays, 30 screenplays, 5 novels, and 3 volumes of memoirs. He is best remembered for his long-running series of farces first staged in the 1920s and 1930s at the Aldwych Theatre. Many of these were made into films and later television productions.
Travers in 1975
Inspirations to the young Travers: clockwise from top left: W G Grace, Ranjitsinhji, Sarah Bernhardt, Lucien Guitry
Yvonne Printemps starred in Travers's 1936 O Mistress Mine
Scene from The Dippers, 1922