Persons Unknown (play) explained

Persons Unknown
Date Of Premiere:	8 May 1929
Original Language:	English
Genre:	Mystery

Persons Unknown is a 1929 mystery play by the British writer Edgar Wallace. The plot revolves around the murder of a "person unknown" in a street by a mysterious blackmailer.^[1] It features the character of Sergeant Elk, a Scotland Yard detective who appeared in several of Wallace's novels.

Its original run lasted for 108 performances, from 8 May 1929^[2] to 10 August 1929,^[3] at London's Shaftesbury Theatre. The cast included Gordon Harker and Minnie Rayner.

Bibliography

• Kabatchnik, Amnon. Blood on the Stage, 1975-2000: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.
• Wearing, J. P. The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.

Notes and References

1. Kabatchnik p.172
2. 'London Theatres: The Shaftesbury: Persons Unknown', The Stage, 16 May 1929, p.18
3. 'Chit Chat: Last Nights', The Stage, 8 August 1929, p.12