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30-558: When We Are Married is a three-act play by the English dramatist J. B. Priestley , described as "A Yorkshire Farcical Comedy". Written in 1934, it is set about thirty years earlier, and depicts the consequences when three middle-aged couples jointly celebrating their silver weddings are informed that they were not legally married. By 1938 J. B. Priestley had established himself as a dramatist, becoming, according to The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English , "one of

60-734: A General Register Office in Dublin. In Ireland, legislation came into force in 1845 which provided for the registration of civil marriages and for the regulation of all non-Catholic marriages. Roman Catholic marriages were reported to the relevant superintendent registrar. In the Republic of Ireland , a General Register Office exists as a central repository for records relating to births, stillbirths, adoptions, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths. Local registration takes place in HSE Civil Registration Services across

90-552: A larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for particular anniversary milestones (e.g., 10, 15, 20, or 25 years). In some cultures, traditional names exist for milestone anniversaries; for instance, fifty years of marriage may be known variously as a "golden wedding anniversary", "golden anniversary" or "golden wedding". Associating a wedding anniversary with precious metals such as "gold" (50 years) or "silver" (25 years) has been documented in Germanic countries since

120-564: A particular sub-district. Since 1994, the range of services offered by register offices has expanded so that they may now provide additional celebratory services including statutory citizenship and civil partnership ceremonies and non-statutory ceremonies such as naming and renewal of vows. Civil ceremonies may also take place in local approved premises, including hotels and public buildings. On 1 December 2007, all registrars and superintendent registrars in England and Wales became employees of

150-402: A popular analogy are the numerous jubilees thrown to celebrate anniversary milestones in the reigns of English and British monarchs, all of which are also associated with precious stones or metals. In English-speaking countries, the fifth-year gift (wood) was cut on the day of celebration and then presented to the wife as a finished item before the next two quarter days had passed. In 1937,

180-520: A public-facing function and were responsible for registrations within their respective areas. In addition to their role in registration, register offices in the United Kingdom conduct civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies, as well as other civic ceremonies. Register offices were established in England and Wales in 1837, with similar legislation being introduced for Scotland in 1855 and Ireland in 1845. In England and Wales

210-802: A short tour the production opened in the West End of London at the St Martin's Theatre on 11 October 1938. It transferred to the larger Prince's Theatre in March 1939 and ran until 24 June of that year. Alderman Joseph Helliwell and his wife, Maria, are joined at their house in Clecklewyke in the West Riding of Yorkshire by Councillor Albert Parker and his wife, Annie, together with Herbert Soppitt and his wife, Clara. They are celebrating their silver weddings , all three couples having been married on

240-434: Is a famous Thirukadaiyur Temple where special pujas are conducted for wedding anniversaries. Flowers are also associated with wedding anniversaries up to and including the 50th anniversary. Register office (United Kingdom) Historically local register offices were organised under a General Register Office , with a registrar-general responsible for their administration. A network of local offices provided

270-638: Is intensified by the discovery that a domestic servant, Mrs Northrop, has been eavesdropping and knows what Gerald has revealed. Worse, a reporter and photographer from the regional paper, Fred Dyson and Henry Ormonroyd, are on the premises, having come to report on the anniversary and take pictures of the three couples. The three men agree that Mrs Northrop must be bribed to secrecy, and the newspaper men bluffed and kept in ignorance. Mrs Northrop tells Maria, Annie and Clara what she has learned. The couples slowly adjust to finding themselves unmarried. The two downtrodden partners, Herbert Soppitt and Annie Parker, seem on

300-419: The 1500s. In English-speaking countries, the tradition of associating gift-giving with wedding anniversaries became more prevalent in the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, increased commercialization led to the inclusion of more anniversaries to a list of predetermined gifts. In some parts of the world, couples can receive special recognition from government officials for particular milestones. In

330-588: The 50th and all subsequent anniversaries. Catholics may apply for a papal blessing through their local diocese for wedding anniversaries of a special nature (25th, 50th, 60th, etc.). Some significant anniversaries have names that suggest appropriate or traditional gifts, such as a silver or platinum jubilee . Gifts may be exchanged by spouses or given by guests at parties; they may also influence an anniversary party's theme or decoration. These gifts vary in different countries, but some anniversary years now have well-established connections common to many nations;

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360-510: The American National Retail Jeweler Association (now known as Jewelers of America as a result of an organizational merger) introduced an expanded list of gifts. The revamped list gave a gift for each year up to the 25th and then for every fifth anniversary after that. In South India, 60th and 80th wedding anniversaries are accompanied by large celebrations similar to weddings. In Tamil Nadu, there

390-593: The Commonwealth realms, a couple can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th and 70th wedding anniversaries and for any wedding anniversary after that. This is done by applying to Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom or to the governor-general 's office in the other Commonwealth realms. In Australia , couples can receive a congratulatory letter from the governor-general on the 50th and all subsequent wedding anniversaries. The prime minister,

420-590: The Helliwells, Eric Porter and Patricia Routledge as the Parkers, Richard Pearson and Thora Hird as the Soppitts, Shirley Steedman as Ruby, Sheila Burrell as Mrs Northrop, Ronnie Barker as Ormonroyd and Sheila Reid as Lottie. The 1987 version featured Peter Vaughan and Patricia Routledge as the Helliwells, Timothy West and Prunella Scales as the Parkers, Bernard Cribbins and Rosemary Leach as

450-576: The Leader of the Opposition, local members of both state and federal parliaments as well as state governors may also send salutations for the same anniversaries. In Canada, couples can also receive a message from the governor-general for the 50th anniversary and every fifth anniversary after that. In the United States , a couple can receive an anniversary greeting card from the president for

480-402: The Soppitts, Sue Devaney as Ruby, Liz Smith as Mrs Northrop, Joss Ackland as Ormonroyd and Patsy Rowlands as Lottie. A film adaptation was released in 1943 by British National Films Wedding anniversary A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date that a wedding took place. Couples often mark the occasion by celebrating their relationship, either privately or with

510-543: The celebrations in the dining room, they gather in the sitting room, replete with port and cigars, to confront the chapel organist, Gerald Forbes, whom they intend to sack, because he has been seen walking out with young women, and, worse, is a southerner. Gerald turns the tables by revealing that on holiday he met a church minister, the Rev Francis Beech, who confided that thirty years ago, as a young minister at Lane End, he conducted four marriages – three of them on

540-714: The current registration service is overseen by the Registrar General as part of the General Register Office , part of the Home Office Identity and Passport Service but provided locally by local authorities. A register office is the office of the superintendent registrar of the district, in whose custody are all the registers dating back to 1837. Registrations are carried out by a registrar and each registration district will have one or more registrars and each may be responsible for

570-645: The first play to be televised in its entirety from a theatre when BBC Television relayed the complete performance between 8.30 and 10.50 pm on 16 November. BBC Television broadcast studio adaptations of the play in 1949, 1951, 1957, 1964, 1975 and 1987. Among those taking part in the first four of these were Patricia Hayes (Ruby, 1949), Joan Hickson (Mrs Northrop, 1949), Peter Cushing (Gerald, 1951), Frank Pettingell (Ormonroyd, 1951 and 1957), Raymond Huntley (Parker, 1951), Violet Carson (Maria Helliwell, 1957) and Wilfred Brambell (Soppitt, 1957). The 1975 television adaptation featured John Stratton and Beryl Reid as

600-689: The idea when we were crossing from America, for she had found in the ship’s library an oldish volume of French short stories, and one of these stories had amused her by describing how a couple who were celebrating the anniversary of their wedding suddenly discovered they had never been married at all. I had long wanted to write a funny play about the Yorkshire I had known as a boy, thirty years ago; so I took three couples instead of one, made it their silver wedding celebration, sketched in one or two scenes of genuine comedy ... and then, trying to remember every droll thing about that old Yorkshire, I let it rip. While

630-590: The local authorities providing the registration service, having been statutory officers with no legal employment status. This came about as a result of the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 following decades of campaigning by the trade unions that represented registration officers in England and Wales, the Society of Registration Officers and UNISON . In 2011, the General Register Office for Scotland

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660-464: The most highly regarded playwrights of his day". His earlier successes included The Good Companions (1931), Dangerous Corner (1932), Laburnum Grove (1933) and Time and the Conways (1937). Priestley recalled the genesis of the play: I was writing, very happily and at a furious speed, a farcical comedy that came finally to be called When We Are Married . My wife had given me the germ of

690-415: The others that he is married, although he wishes he were not. The ceremony, he says, was at Lane End conducted by Beech. His wife – equally keen as he to become unmarried – has investigated and established that the four weddings conducted by Beech were legally valid because in those days nonconformist weddings had to be certified by a registrar , and this had been duly done. Finding they are married after all,

720-520: The performers were Carleton Hobbs (Parker, 1940), Frank Pettingell (Ormonroyd, 1948, 1955 and 1965), Violet Carson (Maria Helliwell, 1955), Thora Hird (Clara Soppitt, 1965), Derek Guyler , Helliwell, 1965). The 1994 production featured Michael Jayston and Nicola Pagett as the Helliwells, Alun Armstrong and Gwen Taylor as the Parkers, Alan Bennett and Brenda Blethyn as the Soppitts, and Peter Woodthorpe and Polly James as Ormonroyd and Lottie. In November 1938 When We Are Married became

750-546: The play was in preparation the title was changed from the original Wedding Group to When We Are Married , quoting a popular song from The Belle of New York . Under the new title the play opened at the Opera House, Manchester on 19 September 1938, produced and directed by Basil Dean . ( The Leeds Mercury , which liked the play, objected mildly that its first performance should surely have been in Yorkshire.) After

780-466: The same day in the same nonconformist chapel in Lane End, Clecklewyke. Their characters quickly become clear: Helliwell and his wife are easy-going, but he is self-satisfied and inclined to infidelity; Parker is a narrow-minded and parsimonious bully and his wife is under his thumb; Soppitt, contrariwise, is bullied by his domineering wife. The men are all prominent elders of Lane End chapel, and after

810-403: The same day – under the impression that he was qualified to do so, but, he later discovered, he lacked the requisite licence for it. The three men are horrified. Their marriage services, conducted by Beech, were invalid. They foresee a scandal, and dread the reaction of Maria, Annie and Clara: "Then t'balloon goes up properly. Talk about a rumpus. You'll 'ear 'em from 'ere to Leeds". Their anxiety

840-447: The three couples look forward to a future without domestic tyranny or extramarital infidelity. Ormonroyd takes a group photograph of the three couples and looks forward to life as proprietor of a photographic shop, with the backing of Helliwell and his colleagues. New productions of the play have included: BBC Radio broadcast a shortened version of the play in 1940, and full-length versions in 1946, 1948, 1955, 1965, 1981 and 1994 Among

870-426: The verge of rekindling the romantic feelings they had for each other before they paired off with Clara and Albert. Herbert rounds on the domineering Clara and asserts himself. Annie does the same to Albert. A convivial barmaid, Lottie arrives. It quickly emerges that she has in the past had an affair with Helliwell, and thinks she can assert the right to become his wife. She is an old flame of Ormonroyd, who tells her and

900-687: Was merged to form the National Records of Scotland - a department of the devolved Scottish Government - with the position of registrar general for Scotland being held by the same individual as the keeper of the Records of Scotland. The General Register Office in Belfast is responsible for local register offices in Northern Ireland . As part of the United Kingdom, all of Ireland's register offices were previously organised under

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