Chains

Miss Baker is back. Mint Theater Company returns to Theatre Row with CHAINS, Baker’s remarkable debut play, beginning June 7, 2022.

Elizabeth Baker was literally an overnight success in 1909. She went from “obscure stenographer making five dollars a week” to “one of the most widely discussed playwrights in London” when her first play, CHAINS, had a one-performance “try-out” at the Royal Court in London in 1909. The Times and The Globe both called CHAINS “remarkable.” The next year, Baker’s drama was running in repertory with the plays of Galsworthy, Barrie, Granville Barker and Shaw, and was hailed as “the most brilliant and the deepest problem play by a modern British writer since Major Barbara.” (The New Age)

“It is a tale that grips you from the first moment to the last. Every line of it throbs with a real humanity, and the characters that develop from it are living things…CHAINS is one of the GREATEST PLAYS that has been produced in this country for many a long day, and Suffragists will be delighted to note that it has been written by—a woman.” — The Bystander

CHAINS tells the stories of a few ordinary people yearning for a less ordinary life. Charley lives with his wife Lily in suburban London, sharing a cramped house with a lodger. Charley commutes daily to an office in London, his only pleasure is the tiny garden patch beside the house which gives little satisfaction. Charley’s sister-in-law, Maggie, finds the drudgery of shop work so stifling that she plots an escape by marrying a kind man she doesn’t love—an escape that can’t provide the adventure she craves.

Charley & Maggie are both shaken when Charley’s lodger announces that he’s tired of the grind and leaving for Australia—the day after tomorrow. His decision sends a tremor through the family that threatens to break the ties that bind Maggie and Charley to their ordinary lives.

 

CHAINS is appropriate for ages 12 and up.

Please note all sales are final. We do not offer refunds or exchanges. 

Vaccination Requirements:

All patrons 5 & older must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to their performance date. Proof of vaccination must be accompanied by a valid photo ID (valid ID for ages 5-18 do not need to include a photo).  

Once a child turns 5, they will have up to 45 days from their date of birth to be fully vaccinated.

Click here for our full COVID-19 safety policy and vaccination requirements. 

Masks must be worn inside the building at all times.