In 1949 Mr. Josephs joined the staff at Ernest Bailey's and he chose the play "Lady Precious Stream" by the Chinese writer Hsiung Shih-I as his first school production. Stan Josephs' brother was acting in the same play at Manchester Grammar School so Mr. Josephs took the Bailey's cast to see it. "Lady Precious Stream" had first been produced in Britain in 1935 by the Chinese writer Hsiung Shih-I; he was the first Chinese person to both write and direct a West End play. It proved an inspired choice for Bailey's, and the production was extremely well received by the parents and pupils. Amongst the cast was Pauline Hare (now Jordan), who played a serving maid and whose picture this is. She and Elizabeth Bell were the youngest members of the cast. Michael Jolley played Hsieh Ping Kuiei (see principal roles below).

The cast members, where known, are:

Back row, standing:
John Billingham (peeping over the heads) | Norman Stone (behind pike) | Dennis Hawley | John Noton | John Humphries (wearing tuxedo) | Ian Callard | John Standen, holding pike

First row, standing immediately behind the chairs:
Barbara Betts | Barbara Dimbleby | --- (over Barbara's shoulder) | John Everett (holding pike or spear) | _ Cobb | Gillian Risley | Eileen Wright | M Greatorex | Pauline Hare | Elizabeth Bell

Seated on chairs:
Neil Ollerenshaw | Brian Wilson | Brian Hobbs | Michael Jolley | June Carroll |

Crouching/sitting on the ground:
_ Whitworth? (under the executioner's axe) | _ Page? (below Messrs Hobbs and Jolley) |

Standing, extreme left, and wielding the executioner's axe:
_ Fearn |

The principal roles in Lady Precious Stream were:

Wang Yun, the Prime Minister
Madam Wang, his wife
Golden Stream    }
Silver Stream      } their three daughters
Precious Stream }
Su, The Dragon General, husband of Golden Stream
Wei, The Tiger General, husband of Silver Stream
Hsieh Ping-Kuei, the Prime Minister's Gardener, later King in/of Mongolia
Mongolian Princess

Please email the web mistress if you can identify anyone else, or provide first names for some of the boys.