Before Ballet Shoes: Noel Streatfeild’s The Children’s Matinée

ABSTRACT This article explores eight short plays by Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986), seven of which a cast of children and adults performed as a fundraiser in an Eastbourne, East Sussex home, probably in early 1934. Heinemann published the Eastbourne pieces, bound with the eighth play, as The Children’s Matinée in a single volume later that year. The article covers Streatfeild’s background as actress, playwright, producer, and novelist; her literary toolkit, including her familiarity with stories, drama, music, and popular culture from ancient times to the 1930s; and her role in creating an intergenerational environment for the production of these plays.