Eva Elwes

Eva Elwes (born Gertrude Emma Cannon; 1876–1950)[1] was an English actress and playwright who wrote over 50 plays between 1907 and 1938.

[1][5] When the theatre closed in 1940, due to the World War II blackout, a newspaper article recalled "some particularly fine performances by that grand dowager of drama Eva Elwes".

[10] Several plays had wartime themes and settings, such as Joy, Sister of Mercy,[11] John Raymond's Daughter[12] and Billy's Mother.

[15] The Price She Paid dramatised the story of Edith Cavell the British nurse who was shot by the Germans in 1915 after being suspected of spying.

[16] In 1925 the Alexandra Theatre in South Shields submitted an application to the Lord Chamberlain for a licence for Elwes's play entitled Edith Cavell, Nurse and Martyr.

The play was first performed in August 1923 at the Alexandra Theatre with Will Glaze and Elwes in the cast; the scenery was designed and painted by Ernest Eykyn.