London%20revues%201950 1954 by Ian Parsons

1950

KNIGHTS OF MADNESS

London run: Victoria Palace, March 16th – June 7th 1952 Music & Lyrics: Ross Parker Presented by Prince Littler & Val Parnell Producer: Alec Shanks Comedy directed by Charles Henry Dances & Ensembles: George Carden Conductor: Freddie Bretherton Cast: Nervo & Knox, Bud Flanagan, Naughton & Gold, with Barbara Bruce, Frank Cook, Lenny Delma, Grace Draper, Pat Hill, Linda Lee, Jan Muzurus, Jillian Roma, Douglas Trow, The Digadoo Girls, Burton & Son, The Dassie Brothers, (The Belgravians) : Terry Atkinson, Freddie Clarke, Jack Edwards, Bernard Hall, William Tinkler, Douglas Trow, David Vaughan, Kenneth Wayne. Chorus Girls: Pamela Austin, Anne David, Elizabeth Day, Olga Fleming, Marie Foster, June Grieg, Vera Hall, Peggy Hahn, Pamela Hancock, Irma Hanson, Patricia Hawks, Kay Henderson, Hazel Johns, Joan Kay, Olgalita Mayne, Hilda Newton, Gai Pearl, Olga Roberts, Bobbie Rogerson, Diana Salisbury, Margaret Temple, Irene Waters Later: Alistair McHaig Notes: The Gang was involved in “The Wedding Breakfast”, “The Holiday Camp” and in the highly dramatic repertory production of “Operation Ubanga”, with Teddy Knox as a young naval officer, and Bud Flanagan as a Russian spy. The Gang also appeared as Edwardian Beaux and the Lads of Marsovia in an eight-part “Listen to Leicester Square” sequence which ended the first half. This scena also included the “Ballet à l’Empire”, “Remember Daly’s?” and “Alhambra Souvenir” as part of a nostalgic tribute to the old days. The revue introduced the song “Hey, Neighbour” which would go on to become one of Bud Flanagan’s popular favourites.

Photos by Houston Rogers

For the first few performances Peter Glaze (uncredited in the programme) deputised for Charlie Naughton in a few of the more boisterous scenes, due to Naughton’s recent illness. With the show approaching its first birthday, Jack Hylton took the unusual step of announcing it would close from Monday to Friday of Holy Week to enable the cast to have a short pre-Easter break. (He made the same decision for his other show , “Take it From Here”, at the Adelphi.) In May 1951 Alistair McHaig replaced the principal singer, Jan Muzurus. In January 1952 Bud Flanagan was forced to leave the show for three weeks due to illness. This was the longest time he had been absent – out of the 1100 performances since opening night, he had only missed 10. The run of the show ended after 1,363 performances, and, at the final curtain, Chesney Allen, who had been watching from a box, joined Bud Flanagan onstage, and, with the public insisting, they “busked” twenty minutes of their old songs, with Jack Hylton himself going into the pit to conduct.

1950

LATIN QUARTER 1950

London run: Casino, March 18th – December 9th Devised by Robert Nesbitt Producer: Robert Nesbitt Choreographer: Hazel Gee Music Director: Debroy Somers Cast: Vic Oliver with Ken Astell, Zena Barrie, Josephine Bell, Barbara Bentham, George Bowler, Dorothy Caston, The Clark Brothers, Nick Dana, Joyce Davies, Fortunia, Tony Hulley, Dynamite Jefferson, Pauline Johnson, Daphne Kiernander, Margot Lister, Malcia, Lela Moore, Jeffrey Piddock, Lena Powell, Sylvie St Clair, Bobbie Tranter, Walton & O’Rourke, Five Men About Town, The Collegiate Octette, Les Casavecchia, Les Compagnons de la Chanson, Les Curibas. Notes: This was an opulent and lavishly staged revue “. . . so much glitter, but the hearty laugh is rarely heard, and the witty line is rarer still. . Vic Oliver struggles manfully with a poor script” (Theatre World). “It is a magnificent presentation with very little worthwhile comedy. Indeed, the funniest thing in the show is the old sketch by Ronald Jeans, ‘From the French’, with Vic Oliver as the husband, Jeffrey Piddock as the lover, Pauline Johnson as the wife, and Josephine Bell as the maid” (The Stage). The successes of the show were the French singer Sylvie St Clair, Lela Moore’s one person man-girl dancing act, and Les Compagnons de la Chanson, a troupe of male singers producing a great sound and performing with much joie de vivre.

Fortunia in “Une nuit tropicale”

Les Compagnons de la Chanson

SAUCE PIQUANTE

London run: April 27th – June 10th Producer: Cecil Landeau Choreography: Buddy Bradley Music Director: Bobby Howell Cast: Joan Allum, Jean Bayless, Denny Bettis, Marcel le Bon, Douglas Byng, Peter Dimuantes, Patricia Dare, Tanya Duray, Edward Elders, Peter Glover, Halama, Charles Hampton, Joan Heal, Audrey Hepburn, David Hurst, Richard Inger, Aud Johansen, Ronnie Kaye, Konarski, Anne Lascelles, Margaret Lawford, Adele Leigh, Tutte Lemkow, Michael Lister, Moira Lister, Sara Luzita, Diana Monks, Bob Monkhouse, Pixie Murphy, Bill Shawn, Elizabeth Shelley, Enid Smeeden, Muriel Smith, Antar Wazzan, Maureen Webster, Norman Wisdom. Notes: This revue was notable for its significant number of young “unknown” performers making their first mark on the West End scene - Bob Monkhouse, Joan Heal, Norman Wisdom and Audrey Hepburn among them – and for the established Moira Lister moving into a new field of light comedy. The Spanish ballet, choreographed by Elsa Brunelleschi, and danced by Tutte Lemkow and Sara Luzita, was an outstanding success. “Old hands” included Douglas Byng who appeared in such roles as the Volcano in “Stromboli” and the Baron’s Wife in “Middle Ages”. The sketches included “A Tramcar Called Culture”. “The sauce is piquant enough but the dish is overflowing – on the opening night the show ran over three hours” (The Stage). “The revue would only entertain a very tired businessman” (Spectator) The show closed on June 10th after a six week run, with the announcement that a new edition would be opening in another six weeks’ time. This did not happen.

1950

TOUCH AND GO

London run: Prince of Wales, May 19th – December 16th Book & Lyrics: Jean and Walter Kerr Music: Jay Gorney Presented by Prince Little & Val Parnell Producer: Robert E. Griffith & Dick Hurran Choreography: Helen Tamiris (staged by Mary Anthony) Musical Director: Paul Fenoulhet Cast: Mary Anthony, Valerie Ashton, Kaye Ballard, James Barron, Doreen Barry, Juliette de Lyle, Eleanor Fazan, Bill Fraser, Helen Gallagher, John Guest, Maive Hewson, Sidney James, Glyn Jenkins, Tamara Kirova, David Lober, Howard Ludwig, Carol Lynne, Jonathan Lucas, Roy Marshall, Margaret McInnes, Mary Montgomery, Barbara Pearce, Mavis Peterson, Charles Rowley, Douglas Scott, Beryl Stevens, John Stevens, Dennis Taylor, Desmond Walter-Ellis, Gordon West, June Wheeler, The Debonairs Notes: Bernard Delfont had imported this American revue along with its two American stars, Kay Ballard and Helen Gallagher. The book had undergone some adaptation to meet the taste of an English audience, and the cast had been supplemented with a number of established British performers, so much so “that the country of its origin is scarcely visible; indeed so fresh and sprightly is its humour and so brilliantly new its spectacular scenes that ‘Touch and Go’ might have been written last week” (Theatre World). Among the sketches was “Gorilla Girl”, showing how the ape in the film studio was more intelligent than the dizzy star blonde; “What it was Really Like”, a wry look at the wartime problems; “Never Felt Better” on giving up smoking, and “A Great Dane A-Coming”, a musical version of Hamlet. There was much laughter for “Cinderella”, whose plot got mixed up with “Streetcar Named Desire”. (Ironically, “Touch and Go” was replaced with another “Cinderella”, - the Walt Disney film version – when it closed in December, after 353 twice-nightly performances in London. (In New York it had managed just 176.)

RHYME AND REASON

London run: Torch Theatre, July 24th (One week only) Music: David Griffiths Book & Lyrics: Ronald Vowles Producer: Ronald Essex Dances directed by Frederick Owen Cast: Patricia Crosson, Ronald Essex, Kenneth Fawcett, John Fernley, Pamela Garrett, Olwen Griffiths, Joan Harper, Shirley Hills, Sheila Lawson, Millicent Martin, Bridget McClure, Jane Merryl, Leta Mooney, Frederick Owen, Pamela Travanova, Grenville Wright, Notes: The sketches had titles like “Crossing the River”, “Closing Time Fantasy” and “The Wind in My Sails”. Despite the very small performing area, the revue featured a very colourful Fiesta Finale. The comic partnership of Grenville Wright and Olwen Griffiths, and the dancing partnership of Fred Owen and Pamela Travanova came in for special praise. Following its week in Knightsbridge, the revue played further dates outside London.

Millicent Martin

1950

THE WATERGATE REVUES 1950 Series of Late Night Revues

After the Show

London run: New Watergate, June 21st - November Second Edition: November 7th - March 1951 Third Edition: March 28th 1951 –May 6th Written by Peter Myers, Lionel Harris & Alec Grahame. Music: Norman Dannatt Directed by Christopher Hewey & Robert Dorning 1st Edition Cast: Ivan Berold, Gabrielle Brune, Joan Chorlton, Robert Dorning, Beryl Kaye, Maeve Leslie, Tommy Linden, John Pritchett Notes: This was staged nightly at 10.30pm following the main show . “ . . . a brisk and witty affair which ripples along and occasionally threatens to slip over the edge, when it is usually saved by a blackout. Robert Dorning’s rapid summary of London theatres and their shows has sly verdicts sure of a laugh. He is also extremely funny on the subject of trans-continental ballet” (Theatre World). “It is indeed ideal after-the-show entertainment with more fun. . .than by some companies we could think of” (The Stage).

Robert Dorning

After the Show 2 2nd Edition Cast: Daphne Anderson, Ivan Berold, Robert Dorning, Sheila Douglas-Pennant, Beryl Kaye, Maeve Leslie, Tommy Linden, Alan Reid Later: Charlotte Mitchell The second edition retained the Theatre Summary item, and added new sketches including a Gilbert & Sullivan “Three Little Maids” burlesque; a parody of “Mister Roberts” currently running in the West End; and Robert Dorning employed in a film studio as a stand-in for both Casanova and Lassie. In mid–December Daphne Anderson, who was contracted for pantomime at the Players Theatre, was replaced by Charlotte Mitchell.

Late Night Extra

3rd Edition Cast: Stanley Beard, Emile Belcourt, Lynn Craig, Patricia Hartley, Ann Lancaster, John Moffatt. The third edition had a complete change of cast since the usual cast had been engaged to play a concurrent season at the St. Martin’s Theatre (q.v.). New items in the third edition included “Empire Day”, a satire on the “cinevariety” programme at the Empire, Leicester Square; and John Moffatt as the boy who plays all the female leads in the Shakespeare repertoire. The third edition “unfortunately does not live up to the standard one has come to expect at the Watergate” (The Stage). For the final weeks of its run at the Watergate, material from earlier versions was being performed concurrently at the St Martin’s. (q.v.)

1950

OUT OF THIS WORLD

London run: Palladium, October 18th – December 16th Music by Ronnie Hammer, Bobby Howell Presented by Val Parnell with George & Alfred Black Producer: Alec Shanks & Joan Davis Choreographer: Joan Davis Conducted by Woolf Phillips Cast: Jerry Desmonde, Binnie Hale, Frankie Howerd, Nat Jackley with Angela Barrie, Edward Beaumont, Sammy Curtis, Ed Hoffman, Russell Joudreau, Sheila Matthews, Dennis Murray, Maureen Sims, Freddie Vale, Gloria Williams, Warren & Latona & Sparks, The Trio Gipsy, The Ben Yost Royal Guards, 20 John Tiller Girls Notes: Frankie Howerd scored a hit in his professional West End stage debut, “with the help of Madame Violette de Saxe at the piano (‘poor old soul’ he says) he presents one of the funniest turns in variety today” (The Stage). Among the sketches was one called “No. 10 Downing Street”, and the scenas included a lavish New Orleans songand-dance spectacle, and a Black & White Dance sequence.

Frankie Howerd

TAKE IT FROM US

London run: Adelphi, October 31st – October 6th 1951 Presented by Jack Hylton with George & Alfred Black Music: Freddie Bretherton, Richard Mullen, Ross Parker, Phil Park Directed by Charles Reading Dances & Ensembles: Bert Stimmel Musical Director: Cyril Ornadel Cast: Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley, Wallas Eaton, Joy Nichols, with Frank Brown, Robert Chesnay, Donald Craig, Harry Dawson, Gloria Day, John Fothergill, Patricia Hartley, Matt Heft, Triss Henderson, Count Le Roy, Maurice St Clair, John Vicars, Nino the Wonder Dog, The Costello Twins, The Strand Steppers, Annette’s 16 Dancettes.

Photo by Houston Rogers

Notes: With acrobatics, skating and a dog act in-between the solo acts, this was almost a variety bill rather than a revue. There were some spectacular scenes including Harry Dawson as The Dreamer in “Out of a Dream” and several sketches such as the “What a Sphinx” with Joy Nicholls as Cleopatra, and others based on the popular radio show “Take it From Here”.

Jimmy Edwards and Joy Nicholls in “What a Sphinx”

Photo by Houston Rogers

1951

Cyril Wells as Sir Thomas Beecham

THE FOL DE ROLS

London run: St Martin’s, January 1st – March 31st Sketches & Lyrics: Greatrex Newman Music: Wolseley Charles Additional Music: Harry Tait, Ross Parker Additional Lyrics: Philip Whitley Choreographer: Thurza Rogers

Notes: “Their show, with its twenty-six turns following on with lightning rapidity, has all the essential ingredients of wit and humour (as clean as a whistle), song and dance, pretty girls in pretty frocks, lively and tuneful airs, potted pantomime and miniature ballet, seasoned with topicality and produced with pace and snap” (Theatre World). The hit of the show was the young comedian Cyril Wells, whose appearances included a burlesque of Christopher Robin in “Boys Will Be Boys” and as Sir Thomas Beecham conducting a full symphony orchestra. The sketches included “The Wedding Photograph”, “Bo-Peep and her Lost Property”, “The Modern Mikado”, “The Dresden Music Box”, “The Queen of Hearts – Illustrated”, and an elaborate puppet display Charles Stewart (Little Lord Fauntleroy), Robin Ford (Bubbles), “The Puppets Help Themselves to Happiness” Cyril Wells (Christopher Robin)

HERE GOES London run: Unity Theatre , January 10th (Short run) Music: Berkely Fase Book & Lyrics: Geoffrey Parsons Produced by Alfie Bass & Vida Hope Cast: Bill Ward, Doris Levenson, Elsie Chisnall Notes: The targets for satire were the craze for poetic drama from T.S. Eliot and Christopher Fry, and the current interest in psychiatry and Sigmund Freud. The political intentions of the USA was also a subject for examination, and a Gilbert & Sullivan parody “On the Shores of Lake Distress” was also mentioned in the reviews.

Photo by Houston Rogers

Cast: David Nixon (compère), Sylvia Barber, Rita Burroughs, Maureen Cooper, Robin Ford, Lucille Graham, Frederic Gregory, Anthony Hayes, Hazel Honey, Anna Mathew, June Powell, Vincent Ranger, Thurza Rogers, Joan Rudd, Alice Stephenson, Charles Stewart, Robert Sydney, Harry Tait, Cyril Wells, Kathleen West, Eve Williams, Ronald Wyles,

1951

FOLIES BERGERE REVUE 1951 (Encore des folles)

Cast: T. Baker, Igor Barczinski, D. Cameron, Annette Chappell, Tommy Cooper, Frederic Greene, M. Hewson, Francis John, Renita Kramer, Joe Latona, Lilo, P. Lyndon, Menya Marah, Naida, Gordon Needham, Rex Ramer, Maisie Sparks, Leslie Warren, Americo Silver & Rosel, Rolly & Arry, Renald & Rudy, The Balladinis Notes: This was a spectacular production, opening with a French café scene, then moving into the foyer of the Paris Opera, to a jungle filled with exotic animals, to a harem containing Renald and Rudy fountains and water-pools, and even to a Mexican Carnival. Specialities included Warren, Latona & Sparks, and the strong-men act of Renald & Rudy, and there was a much-praised ballet sequence from Annette Chappell & Igor Barczinski. After running for almost a year at the Hippodrome the entire production was shipped to Australia for a highly successful run.

LATIN QUARTER OF 1951

London run: Casino, March 10th – December 8th Devised by Robert Nesbitt Producer: Robert Nesbitt Choreographer: Hazel Gee Musical director: Debroy Somers Cast: Ken Astell, Teddie Britten, Bob Bromley, Georges Campo, Jean Carson, Sammy Curtis, Peter Dimunantes, Viki Emra, Pamela Green, Arthur Gomez, Tony Hulley, Nat Jackley, Daphne Kiernander, Eric Kilner, Denise Merrum, Dennis Murray, Eileen O’Dare, Jeffrey Piddock, Rolly Rolls, Bobbie Tranter, Edward Wood, Monsieur Choppy, Dick & Dot Remy, Darvas & Julia, Halma & Konarski. Notes: This was Nat Jackley’s first West End revue and he scored heavily in a series of sketches, including “Une Affaire d’Honneur” – a duelling scene- and “Les Darvas and Julia Legionnaires”. The “Fantaisie Apache” of Georges Campo, and the puppet act of Bob Bromnley were among the specialities, though one of the most novel was the act of Monsieur Choppy, who painted grotesque figures on the bare backs of some of the chorus girls. The spectacular dance scenes included “Excitement” and “Nocturnes Parisiennes”.

Photo by Douglas of Detroit

London run: Hippodrome, March 6th – February 9th 1952 Devised by Paul Derval & Michel Gyarmathy Producers: Michel Gyarmathy & Dick Hurran Choreographer: Joan Davis Musical Director: Harold Collins

1951

LATE NIGHT EXTRA

London run: Watergate, March 28th – May 6th Book: Peter Myers & Alec Grahame Music: Norman Dannatt Producer: John Regan assisted by Stanley Beard Cast: Stanley Beard, Emile Belcourt, Lynn Craig, Patricia Hartley, Ann Lancaster, John Moffatt, Notes: This was the third edition of the Watergate Late Night Revue. For the final week of its run at the Watergate, material from earlier versions was being presented concurrently at the St Martin’s. (below) Emile Belcourt

AFTER THE SHOW

London run: St. Martin’s , April 30th (Eight week season) Written by Peter Myers, Alec Grahame & Lionel Harris Music: Norman Dannatt & John Pritcherr Producer: Christopher Hewett Cast: Ivan Berold, Robert Dorning, Allan Gabriel, Maeve Leslie, Barbara Pearce, Alan Reid, Beryl Reid, Suzanne Wilde. Notes: The ongoing series of late-night revues at the New Watergate provided the material for this show. All the sketches had been previously staged, and an enlarged version had been re-created for a provincial tour. Following its successful tour the revue was presented by John Regan at the St Martin’s Theatre, running at 9pm nightly, and at 6.30pm and 9pm on Thursdays and Saturdays. “In the intimate, party atmosphere of the Watergate. . .we had wit and style and grace, with the company always doing well. But in the great light of the West End theatre. . . the atmosphere and tang of the show is lost. Pale are the once gay colours, and blunted the wit” (The Stage).

FANCY FREE

London run: Prince of Wales, May 15th – December 15th Book & Lyrics: Barbara Gordon & Basil Thomas Music: Phil Park, Phil Green & others Producer: Charles Henry Choreographer: Joan Davis Musical Director: Jack Parnell Cast: Tommy Trinder with Jean Bayliss, Bobby Brandt, Albert Chappelle, Irissa Cooper, Jennifer Jayne, Pat Kirkwood, Alan & Blanche Lund, John Morley, Ken Whitmer, George Mitchell Quintette Later changes: Sue Carson, Rey Overbury & Suzette, Will Carlisle, Nancy & Molly Monks, Three Bentley Sisters Notes: The sketches included “Goal Diggers” a satire on the buying of professional footballers, and “The Ice Age”, a burlesque on the current craze for ice show. They all featured Tommy Trinder “a show in himself, as we have known before today, but somehow ‘Fancy Free’ convinces us that he has never been better” (The Stage). Pat Kirkwoood’s several appearances were acclaimed as highlights of the show. The scenas, with costumes designed by Erté, included “Love at Last”, “Vauxhall Now and Then”, and “Summer Times” and featured three much praised girls, Jean Bayliss, Irissa Cooper and Jennifer Jayne. In October Pat Kirkwood left the show due to prior commitments, and was replaced by Sue Carson. The run ended on December 15th. Tommy Trinder

Photo by Angu McBean

1951

Left to right: Roberta Huby, Ian Carmichael, Joan Heal, Jeremy Hawk, Irlin Hall, Myles Easston, Dora Bryan, Graham Payn, Hilary Allen, George Benson, Pam Marmont, Tommy Linden

THE LYRIC REVUE

London run: Lyric Hammersmith, May 24th – Transfer: Globe, Sept 26th—June 28th 1952 (See also “Globe Revue” July 10th 1952) Music: Charles Zwar, Graham Payn, Richard Addinsell & others Lyrics: George Bryant & others Sketches: Arthur MacRae, Paul Dehn & others Director-Choreographer: William Chappell Musical Director: Norman Hackforth Cast: Hilary Allen, George Benson, Dora Bryan, Ian Carmichael, Myles Eason, Irlin Hall, Jeremy Hawk, Joan Heal, Roberta Huby, Tommy Linden, Pam Marmont, Graham Payn, Timothy Spencer Later: Diana Decker

Photo by Angus McBean

Notes: Joan Heal in a Sedan Chair, Irlin Hall in the Bar aux Folies Bergere and Dora Bryan in the Information Desk were said to be the highlights of this revue. There were sketches about the “joys” of the Festival of Britain; the recent controversy over cleaning Old Masters at the National Gallery; high-class burglars; Chinese Willow-Pattern plates; “arty” middle-European theatre styles affecting English shows; and old-established plays being revived in “modern” versions. The dance numbers included a spectacular Calypso number. This was the most highly acclaimed of recent intimate revues. In December Roberta Huby left for a pantomime engagement and was replaced by Diana Decker

Dora Bryan as an “arty” Cinderella

Second Edition: The first edition closed on June 28th 1952, and a second edition opened two days later at the Theatre Royal, Brighton, and then returned to the Globe on July 10th, under the title “The Globe Revue”. It had mostly the same cast.

1951

PENNY PLAIN

London run: St Martin’s, June 28th – July 19th 1952 Music: Richard Addinsell, Donald Swann, Charles Zwar, & others Lyrics: Joyce Grenfell, Geoffrey Wethered, Michael Flanders & others Sketches: Alan Melville, Simon Phipps, Paul Dehn & others Devised by: Laurier Lister Director: Laurier Lister Choreographer: Bert Stimmel Pianists: John Pritchett, Kenneth Broadberry Cast: Max Adrian, Patrick Brawn, Marjorie Dunkels, Moyra Fraser, Joyce Grenfell, Rose Hill, Julian Orchard, Anthony Tancred, Jimmy Thompson, Desmond Walter-Ellis, Elisabeth Welch, June Whitfield, Delia Williams. Later: Richard Waring Notes: “Though topicality abounds and there is much that scintillates, on the whole a slight disappointment was felt” (Theatre World). Among the sketches were “The Family Play”, a comment on the proliferation of domestic stage comedies; a quartet about the currently out-of-favour well-to-do; and a “boisterous frolic at the expense of international folk-dance contests” (The Stage). Joyce Grenfell and Julian Orchard suggested that Tennyson’s Maud may have had good reason to be wary when invited to come into the garden, whilst Max Adrian scored as a very sick actor who would rather die onstage than allow his understudy to go on. Joyce Grenfell, Rose Hill and Moyra Fraser appeared in the “Albert Hall” (as designed by Osbert Lancaster) making “A Joyful Noise” (as composed by Donald Swann). In November Desmond Walter-Ellis left the cast to fulfil a filming commitment, and was replaced with Richard Waring. Following its two-year run in the West End, the revue undertook an extended provincial tour.

Rose Hill, Joyce Grenfell and Moyra Fraser making “A Joyful Noise” at the Albert Hall

1951

10.15

London run: Irving Theatre, September 6th (Limited run) Written by Peter Myers & Alec Grahame Music: John Pritchett, Norman Dannatt & Ronald Cass Producer: Robert Dorning Choreographer: Andree Howard Musical Director: Ronald Cass Production Adviser: Ken Tynan Cast: B. Bowerman, Gabrielle Brune, Sonya Hana, Humphrey Lestocq, Betty Marsden, Ronnie Stevens, Tom Tracy, Shani Wallis, Notes: This was the opening show at the Irving Theatre, a tiny theatre (“with the smallest stage in London”) located in Irving Street, off Leicester Square, and owned by a Mr D.F. Chaudhuri. It staged revues (mostly late-night) for the first few years of its existence, then changed to musicals, plays and eventually became a strip-club as the interest in revue declined. The first show received mixed notices: “Gabrielle Brune provided sentiment in a cloakroom and Betty Marsden gave a fascinating demonstration of sales-womanliness and savagery in a beauty parlour” (Theatre World). “There are good ideas in ‘Keeper of the Flame’ and ‘Diplomatic Bags’, but as a whole 10.15 lacks brilliant writing” (The Stage). The sketch called “Diplomatic Bags” satirised the very recent disappearance of Burgess and Maclean and the revelation that they had been spying for the Soviet Union. The missing spies were played by Humphrey Lestocq and Ronnie Stevens.

SEE YOU LATER London run: Watergate, October 2nd– ( late January 1952?) Music & Lyrics: Sandy Wilson Additional material: Paul Degn, Peter Myers, Alec Grahame, Geoffrey Wright, John Pritchett. Producer: John Byron Cast: Dulcie Gray, Diana Madox, Yvonne Marsh, Dennis Wood, Charles Ross, Christopher Hewett Later: June Whitfield Notes: This was a late-night show, starting at 10.30pm, after the main show. It marked Dulcie Gray’s first appearance in revue, ranging from a moving portrait of a girl jilted by her lover to a burlesque of the can-can dancers in the current Folies Bergere shows. She also appeared in a sketch making fun of the “thoroughly decent public image” that she and her husband, Michael Denison, have with the theatregoing public. Christopher Hewett performed a sketch about a seventeenth century watchman; Diana Madox did a clever and affectionate burlesque of Joyce Grenfell as well as a portrait of a Gaiety Girl who ended up with damp shoes and a sore throat rather than a peer of the realm.

Dulcie Gray as a can-can dancer

In early December Yvonne Marsh left the show to fulfil a pantomime engagement in Bournemouth. She was replaced with June Whitfield, who was concurrently appearing in “South Pacific” at Drury Lane.

1951

THE PEEP SHOW

London run: Palladium, October 30th – December 15th Transfer: Prince of Wales, December 26th –March 22nd 1952 Producer: Charles Henry Dances by Joe Latona, Anne Negus, Barbara Aitken Conductor: Woolf Phillips Cast: Vera Lynn with Chuck Brown & Rita, Malcolm Goddard, Jack Jackson, Bryan Johnson, Fay Leonore, Gillian Lynne, Huguette Mony, Three Wiere Brothers & Mildred Seymour, Greta Unger Trio, The Three Monarchs, The Whirlwind Elwardos, The George Mitchell Singers, Edmundo Ros and his Rumba Band, The John Tiller Girls, The Eight Peepettes Prince of Wales addition: Sue Carson Notes: The star of the show was Vera Lynn, a great favourite with the audience. The Wiere Brothers were a musical comedy act, working with bowler hats and violins and were accompanied by Mildren Seymour, a pianist who was a comedy act in her own right. Jack Jackson, as compère and all-round entertainer, managed to introduce several references to his work as a “disc jockey” on his Record Round Up programme on the BBC. The scenas included a spectacular Neapolitan number, and an extended Latin-American dance sequence. When the show transferred to the Prince of Wales, Vera Lynn, about to undertake an American tour, was replaced with Sue Carson. The Wiere Brothers

ZWISCHEN WHISKEY UND VODKA

London run: Watergate, November 25th – December 2nd Writers: Lore & Kay Lorentz Music: Emil Schuchardt Cast: Lore Lorentz, Kay Lorentz, Emil Schuchardt & company Notes: A revue from Das Kommodchen Theater Düsseldorf – the first professional German company to appear in London since the war. Although performed mostly in German, it was easy to follow the “tonguein-cheek wryness of brilliant trifles like ‘Half Time’, in which the angels review the events of the first half of the present century on earth and decide it would be a kindness to scrap it” (The Stage). The visit turned out to be a great success, and negotiations began for a return visit in 1952 and for the Watergate revue company to perform in Düsseldorf Lore & Kay Lorentz

ARCHIE ANDREWS’ CHRISTMAS PARTY London run: Prince of Wales, December 21st – January 19th 1952 Producer: Charles Reading

Cast: Peter Brough & Archie Andrews, Tony Hancock, Hattie Jacques, Peter Madden, Harold Taylor, Ossie Noble, Dave & Maureen, Les Rayner & Betty Notes: This children’s show ran for four weeks, with performances at 11am and 2.30pm. Meantime, “Peep Show” transferred from the Palladium and continued to run twice nightly, at 6.15 and 8.45pm.

1952

THE IRVING REVUES 1952 The Irving Revue - ( February 1st onwards) Writers: Peter Myers & Alec Grahame; Music: John Pritchett, Norman Dannant & Ronald Cass Producer: Michael Anderson & John Regan Cast: Eunice Gayson, Larry Hagman, Pamela Manson, Betty Marsden, Michael Medwin, Ronnie Stevens, Betta St John, Beryl Roques, Dick Vosburgh, Notes: The revue was largely based on theatrical themes, gossip and rumours. “If there survive any people who never listen to gossip, they. . .might find themselves a little in the dark” (Theatre World). A highlight was Ronnie Stevens executing a Square Dance. On March 19th some new material was added, including “Bobby Sox Ballad”, debunking the teenagers of America, and “The Eton Quota Song” describing schoolboys’ reactions to X-Certificate films. “Merrie England contrasts the two Elizabetha ages, not entirely to the advantage of the present one and is performed by Michael Medwin, Eunice Grayson, and Betty Marsden, who ranks among the finest comediennes we have seen” (The Stage)

Larry Hagman

Swing Back the Gate - (May 21st onwards) Writers: Peter Myers , Alec Grahame and others; Music: Geoffrey Wright Producers: Diana Morgan & Robert Macdermott; Dances & Ensembles: William Chappell Cast: Michael Anthony, Maria Charles, Leslie Crowther, Edna Fryer, Alec Grahame, Jean Lodge, Yvonne Marsh, Denis Martin, Peter Myers, Beryl Roques, Notes: This was a revival of the most popular sketches and songs originally staged in the eight Gate Revues from 1936 to 1940 (three of which transferred to the Ambassadors in 1940.) Michael Anthony was the only member of the original company to appear in this revival. Among the sketches revived were “Kensington Girls”, “Transatlantic Lullaby”, “Washing Up Schoobert” and “Seductio ad Absurdum”. Each week there was a guest spot in which artists associated with the old Gate Revues would revive performances they created at the end of the 1930s. For the opening week the guest was Walter Crisham.

The Irving Anniversary Cabaret - (July 8th onwards) Musical Director: Ronald Cass Cast: Jean Marsh, Cy Grant, Charlotte Mitchell, David Hurst, Betty Marsden, Dennis Martin, Walter Crisham, Shani Wallis Notes: Betty Marsden in the sketch “Wedding of the Year” and in “The Beauty Parlour” “confirms the impression that she is one of our cleverest comediennes. . . Dennis Martin is exceedingly funny and gives an excellent skit on a Third Programme talk. . . Shani Wallis did not appear to have gauged the theatre’s acoustics and at times was scarcely audible” (The Stage)

Just Lately - (July 24th onwards) Written by David Climie ; Music: John Pritchett & Ronald Cass; Producer: Ronnie Stevens Cast: Kenneth Connor, Jasmine Dee, Dennis Eagen, Rosaline Haddon, Geoffrey Hibbert, Vivian Pickles, Beryl Roques, Charles Ross, Joan Sims, Shani Wallis

Notes: The sketches included “Watch Your Language”, a “translation” of the jargon of American gangsters; “Red Light House” debunking the story of a national heroine; and “Diary of a Queen”.

In The Picture—The Late Night Revue - (December 16th onwards) Devised & Produced by Ian Carmichael Cast: Digby Wolfe, Rosaline Haddon, James Ottoway, Anthony Hayes, Valerie Forrest, Joan Plowright Notes: Among the sketches were “The C.T.C” – a satire on London’s mushroom-like basement theatre clubs, and “Cinemania” in which Digby Wolfe played the slightly illiterate secretary of a highbrow film society. From January 1953 Maria Charles replaced Rosaline Haddon, who had transferred to The Globe Revue (q.v.).

1952

THE WATERGATE REVUES 1952 See You Again

London run: Watergate, February 21st – May 11th Book, Lyrics & Music: Sandy Wilson Additional music: Donald Swann Additional material: John Betjeman Producer: Vida Hope Staged by George Erskine-Jones Cast: Joan Sterndale Bennett, Eric Berry, Maria Charles, Patricia Cutts, Charles Ross, Dennis Wood, (Richard Curnock not credited in programme). Notes: Sketches included satires on adjudication speeches at amateur drama festivals; modern art at the Royal Academy; and the preponderance of American musicals on the London stage. There was a political tirade where Eric Berry, as a blue-blooded old Tory voter, expresses disgust and outrage at the continuing austerity under a Conservative government. “John Betjeman’s lyric about poor Miss Patricia Cutts Hunter-Dunn, (is) by now rather overdone. Donald Swann has set it to music and a hackneyed fate threatens it” (Theatre World) On the opening night Dennis Wood was ill, and his last minute replacement was Richard Curnock.

First Time Here

London run: Watergate, May 20th – ? Written by Archie Savage & David Williams Producer: David Williams Choreographer: Archie Savage Cast: Archie Savage, Mihael Meklinger, Ivor Emmanuel, Chin Yu, David Williams, Paul Dobson, Julian Dale. Notes: “An all-coloured company provide a varied song and dance programme in the new late-night show at the Watergate. . . This is a very mixed collection of fair to middling items staged with little originality and lacking in style and technical finish. Songs and dance of a traditional West Indies kind are then followed by modern revue songs including one about Civil Servants which surely must be the feeblest thing ever heard at this usually ent erta ining lit tle theatre” (The Stage) . The dancers were led by Archie Savage, and the songs sung by a male quartet headed by David Williams. Chin Yu, an Anglo-Chinese artist, performed some Asiatic dances.

Ivor Emmanuel

Archie Savage (right)

1952

EXCITEMENT

London run: Casino, March 8th – November 8th Devised by Robert Nesbitt Presented by Tom Arnold & Emile Littler Producer: Robert Nesbitt Choreographer: Daphne Kiernander Musical Director: Debroy Somers Cast: Jimmy Jewel & Ben Warris with Betty Ash, Veit Bethke, Joy Bolton-Carter, Pedro de Corboba, Larry Day, Simone Dolphen, George Hamilton, Herbert Hare, Barbara Hatswell, Heather Houghton, Bunty Kennedy, Daphne Kiernander, Enid Lowe, Moya Macormack, Malcolm MacDonald, Ilena Manova, Ted Monson, Sheila O’Neill, Valerie Pitkin, Lynne Russell, Joyce Simpson, Jack Skinner, Brenda Wilkinson, Danya & Alvarez, Les Trois Cousines, The Remi Martel Dancers, Margit & Margot, The Three Craddocks, The Two Rekoffs,

“Summer Night” with 2,500 small lamps

Notes: This spectacular revue had an International cast: The Two Rekoffs were comedy dancers fr om Hungar y; Danya and Alvarez were from France; Margit & Margot were ac robat ic twins from Austria; Pedro de Cordoba was a Spanish dancer “who uses his finger-nails in place of castanets”; t he T h r e e Craddocks were French acrobatic comedians; and Les Trois Cousines were singing stars from Paris. The English humour was provided by Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warris.

Photos by George Konig

Among the lavish scenes was “Paris is Always Exciting” and the “Summer Nights” finale, “in which 2,500 small lamps carried by the cast and attached to the décor illuminate the scene with spectacular effect” “Paris is Always Exciting”

Photos by Houston Rogers

1952

Jimmy Edwards, Tony Hancock, Natalie Raine

Vera Lynn & Michael Dalton

LONDON LAUGHS

London run: Adelphi. April 12th – February 6th 1954 Producers: Jack Hylton, George & Alfred Black Writers: Frank Muir, Denis Norden & others Director: Alec Shanks Dances: Joan Davis Comedy Direction: Richard Bird Musical Director: Ray Gort Cast: Jimmy Edwards, Vera Lynn, Tony Hancock with Michael Dalton, Pauline Johnson, Natalie Raine, Derek Rosen, Jane Shore, Erica Yorke, The John Tiller Girls, The Cavendish Singers, Jack Billings Trio, The Bedini Troupe, Later: Tommy Cooper Notes: Vera Lynn came in for much praise, especially in her “Sincerely Yours” sequence and in the period “Carriage and Pair” scene. There was also praise for Tony Hancock as a BBC reporter broadcasting from “A Seat in the Circle” and being harassed by Jimmy Edwards and Natalie Raine, as a couple of theatregoers disturbed by his continual announcements. Jimmy Edwards and Natalie Raine also featured in a sketch called “Polly Does Everything”, with Jimmy dressed as a Sheik. The spectacular set numbers included a lavish “Blossom Time in Covent Garden” and a dancing “Fantasy in Black and White”. The first half closed with “The Waters of Pamu”, with a Witch Doctor, a Bride of the Waterfall, and “a ritual dance to the Mighty Parana, god of the Great Cascade” where the Bride was offered in a Final Sacrifice – with Waterfall Effects by Jimmy Currie. The entire company was given a one week holiday (with pay) from July 28th, opening again on the Bank Holiday Monday, August 4th 1952. The show ran throughout 1952 and the whole of 1953. In December 1953 Tony Hancock left for a pantomime booking, and was replaced by Tommy Cooper. The show was finally withdrawn in February 1954.

1952

PARIS TO PICCADILLY

London run: Prince of Wales, April 12th – August 22nd 1953 Produced by Bernard Delfont & Val Parnell Staged by Dick Hurran Comedy scenes directed by Charles Henry Choreographer: Hazel Gee Musical Director: Harold Collins Cast: Norman Wisdom, Eddie Leslie, Paul Mattei, Mini Gerrard, Renee Strange, Medlock & Marlowe, Three Barbour Brothers, Four Hurricanes, Patterson & Jackson, Aida Baki, Bobby Medlock, Tony Hulley, Paddy Lyndon, Eddie Leslie, Bobby Tranter, Camille & the Folies Lovelies Later: David Hughes, Leslie Randall, Archie Robbins, Eddie Vitch Notes: In association with Paul Derval of the Folies Bergere, Paris, the highlights of this revue were a motor-car dance scene, a scena in a gambling saloon, and a spectacular “Medieval” sequence. The specialities included the Barbour Brothers dancing on stilts, Medlock & Marlowe with their “mask impressions” of famous celebrities, Renee Strange and her puppet act, and Baby Scruggs’ comedy dance. Norman Wisdom was the star of the show, re-creating some of his established “little man” sketches, and introducing a new one, as a park paperpicker. The production “constantly supports something Mini Gerrard mentions in a song, that there is no need to go to Paris for large-scale revue when Piccadilly is so closer at hand” (The Stage). On December 13th Norman Wisdom and Eddie Leslie both left the cast “temporarily” to fulfil pantomime contracts. Their appearances were replaced with a series of new items from Archie Robbins, Leslie Randall, David Hughes and Eddie Vitch. Norman Wisdom returned to the show in time for its first anniversary, and the show itself ended in August, after which the whole production (without Norman Wisdom) was transported to South Africa, to open in Johannesburg in October.

RENDEZVOUS

London run: Comedy. May 1st (Very short run -) Music: Jack Lemkov Lyrics: Michael Treford Book: Michael Treford, from the Norwegian by Finn Boe Director: Tor Lemkov Choregrapher: Alfred Rodrigues Conductor: Harry Green Cast: Chili Bouchier, Keith Campbell, Walter Crisham, Robert Dorning, Diana Dors, Jacqueline Giovanni, Roberta Huby, Bernard Hunt, Tutte Lemkow, Sara Luzita, John Martin, Arthur Young. Notes: This was a revue with a “story” : a group of performers, trying to raise the money to stage their show, are “auditioning” their various acts in front of a wealthy backer and his sultry girl-friend. “Arthur Young, as the backer, after long and silent Diana Dors regard, pretended approval, which was strange, for in the character of his girlfriend, he had brought the tastiest ingredient with him, played with a kind of demure impudence and pleasing variety by Diana Dors.” (Theatre World) . The various acts included Walter Crisham getting drunk on cocktails and in a Regency skit “Belle of Harrogate”; Chili Bouchier in a saucy burlesque of the “Knights of the Round Table”; and Sara Luzita and Tutte Lemkow in a Spanish dance in front of a novel colour film sequence, in which the pair alternated between the screen and the stage. Originally staged with success in Oslo, the show had been adapted for an English audience. For much of the evening it was “a grim affair. The tunes are dull and characterless, the lyrics fall flat and many of the performances are inept” (The Stage).

1952

BOLTONS EVENING PARTY

London run: New Boltons, May 12th – Devised by M. Dyment Presented by Jimmy & Sandra Wax Writers included: T.S.Eliot, James Thurber, Ogden Nash, Arthur Schnitzler Producer : John Karlsen Pianist: Heinz Herschmann,

Photo by Jacobi

Cast: Alan Wheatley, Delia Murphy, Marcella Salzer, Harriet James, Sonia Hana, Michael Charnely

Marcella Salzer

Notes: This was a “sophisticated” revue. Marcella Salzer performed “Lady With Dog” and the near-tragic “Christmas Presents” by Schnitzler; Harriet James improvised dances illustrating newspaper headlines suggested by members of the audience; “Mr Thurber’s Pet Department” was illustrated, and the young Irish folk-singer Delia Murphy encouraged the audience to join in the chorus. “It should attract audiences looking for something out of the ordinary” (The Stage).

THE GLOBE REVUE

London run: Globe, July 10th – January 31st 1953. Book: Arthur Macrae, Paul Dehn and others Music: Richard Addinsell, Charles Zwar, Donald Swann Director –Choreographer: William Chappell Musical Director: Norman Hackforth Cast: Hilary Allen, George Benson, Honor Blair, Dora Bryan, Ian Carmichael, Diana Decker, Myles Eason, Irlin Hall, Jeremy Hawk, Joan Heal, Pam Marmont, Graham Payn, Timothy Spencer, Later: Rosaline Haddon

Photos by Angus McBean

Notes: With mostly the same team as the earlier Lyric Revue which had transferred to the Globe, this stuck to the same “Bad Times Round the Corner” formula and even had “second” editions of Dora Bryan’s Dora Bryan, Graham Payn, Joan Heal, Ian Carmichael Information Desk and the Complaints Corner sketches. Graham Payn’s successful Irish song from the first version was satirised in a new version. The bowler-hatted Ian Carmichael undressing on the beach in a sketch called “Bank Holiday”, and the Noel Coward song “Bad Times Just Around the Corner” were other highlights. A satire on modern production styles saw a staging of “Madam Butterfly” in “Modern Trends”. In early January Rosaline Haddon took over from Diana Decker for the last few weeks of the run. The revue then went on tour.

“Call Me Madam Butterfly”

1952

CHEPSTOW ROUNDABOUT London run: Chepstow Theatre Club, July 17th (short run) Cast: Ernest Berk, Lotte Berk, Andrew Campbell, David Hurst, Laurie Main, Pamela Manson, Carmen Mochan, Peter Ury Notes: Items included Ernest & Lotte Berk’s “The Rat at the Opera” and Ernest Berk’s mimed impressions of modern art, psychiatry and various objects as called out by members of the audience. Other items were Pamela Manson’s “The Jewish Toreador”; French chanteuse items from Carmen Mochan; and David Hurst repeating the skit on a Third Programme musical talk which he had performed at the Irving Theatre earlier in the month. It was claimed this revue was a little too “arty” for general taste. Ernest & Lotte Berk in “The Rat at l’Opéra”

BELLS OF ST MARTINS

London run: St Martin’s , August 29th – December 6th Music arranged by Jack Jordan Producer: W. Lyon-Shaw Choreographer: Peter Glover Pianists: Dennis Ringrowe and Francis Essex

Peter Felgate

Hattie Jacques

Cast: Gillian Barton, Douglas Byng, John Cronin, Joan Elvin, Peter Felgate, Peter Glover, Pamela Hill, Hattie Jacques, Patricia Kelly, Roma Milne, John Rutland, Terence Theobald, Richard Waring, Notes: With a mainly young cast, it was veteran Douglas Byng who made the biggest impact, especially as the gipsystyle violinist of a women’s trio in the restaurant of a department store. He also appeared as a civil servant , producing from his brief-case sufficient red tape to perform a maypole dance around the office hat-stand. Hattie Jacques bounced as the “Golden Corn” soubrette in a burlesque of the Swanee River type musicals; John Rutland appeared as a truculent Tube-railway gateman; and Peter Felgate was an executioner dancing around his chopping block to a heynonny-nonny theme. In the short play “Blessed Union” the actors were constantly interrupted by the necessity of observing strict trade union regulations.

Douglas Byng

1952

WONDERFUL TIME

London run: Palladium, October 21st – December 13th Transfer: Hippodrome, December 17th—May 9th 1953 Sketches: Eric Sykes & others Producer: Charles Henry Musical Director: Jack Ansell Cast (Palladium): Max Bygraves, Joy Nichols, Billy Cotton & His Band with George & Bert Bernard, Alan Breeze, Bob Dixon, Vadja del Oro, Doreen Stephens, Three Ghezzi Brothers, Jo Jac & Joni, Eliane & Randolph. (Hippodrome): Ted Ray , Pamela Howard, John Bursem, Jon Pertwee.

Max Bygraves

Jon Pertwee

Notes: George & Bert Bernard, with their miming to records act, created a devasting impression of Johnnie Ray; Jo. Jac & Joni, with their eccentric dancing, made a meal of “Tea for Two”; Joy Nicholls gave impressions of current musical stars; and “Max Bygraves, supremely confident, convulses with made-to-measure material – songs, parodies, a Tin Pan Alley nightmare in which several hit tunes get mixed up with his own catchphrases, and an account of a new jetpropelled vacuum cleaner” (The Stage). Billy Cotton, as well as conducting his band, played a part in a few of the sketches. Originally planned as a pre-pantomime “filler” at the Palladium, the show proved so popular that it was transferred to the Hippodrome. Eliane & Randolph were already booked for the Palladium panto and Max Bygraves was contracted for panto at Birmingham. At the Hippodrome their places were taken by Pamela Howard, John Bursem and Ted Ray respectively. In March, when the show received a further extension, Ted Ray was replaced with Jon Pertwee.

LA REVUE DU VIN ROUGE London run: New Torch Theatre, October 22nd (Short run) Pianist: Ray Holder Cast: Pepita, Angela Lee, Celias Helda, David Marsden, Isla Cameron, Helene Stoll, Andrew Campbell Notes: The comedy was in the hands of David Marsden, miming to records, and a double-act of Angela Lee and Celia Helda, with “a music-hall-type act of knockabout vulgarity”. The musical side came from Helene Stoll, a French chanteuse, and Isla Cameron with a selection of Irish songs. “The dusky Pepita gives a glimpse of barbaric splendour in her Eastern dances. In the swift movement of the Spanish dance, with its stamping of feet and click of castanets, she proves herself an artist of no mean ability.” (The Stage)

NEVER A WORD

London run: Fortune, October 23rd (Short run) Music: Roger Quilter, John Field, John Dalby, Vala Kurtiz Producer: Jean Burns Pianist: John Dalby Cast: John Stuart Anderson, John Caslon, Gordon Graham, Italia Gray, Ann Johnson, Vala Kurtiz, Gwyn Marion, Carmen Mochan, Jean Morgan, Valerie Murray, Marguerite Oxenham, Elizabeth Russell, Jill Sayer, Ivy Ming Yu, Notes: Advertised as “a revue in mime”, the show took the form of several concerted numbers, all of which were unspoken. “. . . the silent presentation of Noel Coward’s little comedy of ‘The Legend of the Lily of the Valley’ was briefly amusing, but most of the single acts were completely incomprehensible and offered little artistry by way of compensation” (The Stage).

1952

ENTRE NOUS

London run: Bolton’s, November 7th – Written by Donald Monat & Martinson James Producer: Donald Monat Cast: Roy Byfield-Riches, June Dixon, Sigrid Enger, Claudine Goodfellow, Martinson James, Barbara Mitchell, Donald Monat, Philip Sherman, Frank Wilson, Vilma & Leslie, Notes: This revue “did not make a sharp impact and a slightly amateur odour seemed to hang about. Few of the numbers could be called topical, indeed the appeal of imitations of Rudyard Kipling and burlesques of Sherlock Holmes is nostalgic, while jokes about the Sitwells cannot seem novel” (Theatre World). A bright moment came from Philip Sherman in a mimed “Self Service” sketch, but the rest of the company had only poor material to work with.

RING OUT THE BELLS

London run: Victoria Palace, November 12th – June 19th, 1954 Music & Lyrics: Ross Parker Producer: Alec Shanks Comedy scenes directed by: Charles Henry Presented by Jack Hylton Dances & Musical ensembles: Joan Davis Musical Director: Freddie Bretherton Cast: Nervo & Knox, Bud Flanagan, Naughton & Gold, Pamela Austin, Pamela Bromley, William Davies, Bobby Drage, Stanley Fleet, Robert Harvey, Harry Haythorne, Ian Kay, Billy McCormack, Jose Moreno, Valerie Tandy, The Magyar Dancers, The Bogdadi, The Regency Octette, The John Tiller Girls

In March 1954 the musical director, Freddie Bretherton, died suddenly at the age of 45. The show closed on June 19th, 1954 after 947 performances.

Photo by Godfrey Thurston Hopkins

Notes: This was the 21st anniversary of the “crazy gang” working together, and Bud Flanagan, announced as “Wapping’s challenge to Mario Lanza” marked the occasion by singing some of the songs he had made famous over the years – for one of them, the recorded voice of Chesney Allen was used. The sketches included the gang darting in and out of doors in a hotel corridor doing their best to entice a sleep-walking Valerie Tandy; and “The Planters Strife”, in which they save her from a fate worse than death. With Siberian wolfhounds appearing in the “Poodle Parade”, and the amazing acrobatics of The Bogdadi, this was another instant success.

1952

LIGHTING A TORCH

London run: New Torch Theatre, December 30th – (Short run) Written by Josephine Douglas & Kenneth Midwood Cast: Suzy Bandler, Neville Gates, Celia Helda, Angela Lee, Colin Mackenzie, Kenneth Midwood, Edwin Richfield, Notes: This late-night revue was praised for its invention and talent, but was said to be lacking in polish, with subtlety giving way to lumbering over-emphasis. The sketches included a Gilbert & Sullivan parody of a village wedding, and Edwin Richfield as a pantomime fairy reluctant to fly on account of air-sickness. Celia Helda and Angela Lee found their targets in the old shows of the 1920s, and the modern invention of television.

INTIMACY AT EIGHT London run: New Lindsey, December 31st – end of April 1953 Written by Peter Myers, Alec Grahame, David Climie Music: John Pritchett, Ronald Cass, Norman Dannett Producer: John Regan Musical Director: Ronald Cass Cast: Leslie Crowther, Peter Felgate, Eunice Gayson, Dilys Laye, Vilma Ann Leslie, Ron Moody, Charles Ross, Joan Sims Second Edition cast: Maria Charles, Henry Comor, Norma Elliott, Fenella Fielding, Lillemor Kanudsen, Vilma Ann Leslie, Gillian Lynne, Ron Moody, Wendy Pilbeam, Jimmy Thompson, Richard Waring, Dennis Wood Notes: Highlights of this fast-moving topical revue were “There’s Gold in Then That Hills” with Eunice Gayson and Charles Ross; “Himmel”, burlesquing the fashion for “escape” films; Somerset Maugham’s “Rain” re-written in “American”; and “Mrs Dale’s Diary” re-written as a Restoration comedy. Other sketches guyed ENSA shows and in a sketch called “A la Sartre”, the fashion for “intellectual” plays by French authors was burlesqued. Second edition: By mid March a revised edition saw some cast changes and the introduction of new material, including “Student Song”, a skit on drama and medicine schools; Maria Charles as a holiday beauty queen, and an artist’s model who has seen better days; and the plays of Jean Anouilh had been included with those of Jean-Paul Sartre in the complaint about the French invasion into British theatre. The revue had played to full houses throughout its five-month run, the most successful such show the New Lindsey had seen. Some kind of legal dispute arose at the end of the run, when the New Lindsey Theatre Club Ltd issued a writ against the production team relating to the production and performing rights in the show. It seems there were disputed plans to re-create the show elsewhere . In the event it seems the contested production did not take place.

THE IRVING REVUES 1953

1953

Round the Square

From March 23rd Written by Jimmy Wilson & Digby Wolfe; Music: John Pritchett & Norman Dannat Producer: John Regan ; Pianist: Dorian Barnard Cast: Anthea Askey, Lally Bowers, James Bree, Peter Croft, Edna Fryer, Susan Swinford, Paddy Ward Notes: Apart from some references to the forthcoming Coronation and the new “Elizabethan” era, there was little topical material in this revue, other than an item called “Atomic Blues”. Although there was nothing to complain of, it was said to lack sparkle.

Rush Hour Revue

Ochita

- From May 8 (two weeks) Revue by: John Regan; Music: Dick Vosburgh & Christopher Hodder Williams; Producer: John Regan Cast: Ron Parry, John Wade, Ochita, Lillimore Knudsen, Ann Elsden, Lisa Brionda Notes: This was an attempt at early-evening revue, starting at 5.45, and each show lasting for an hour. It was performed before the main evening show. “Bad timing and poor singing are two of the chief weaknesses. . . Ochita dances better than she sings. John Wade. . . is the most diverting artist with his simple conjuring tricks.” (The Stage)

Talk of the Night

- From July 1st Written & Produced by Peter Croft; Musical director: Christopher Hodder-Williams Cast: Lionel Blair, Philip Dale, Eve Eacott, Richard Gilbert, Pauline Johnson, Rene Powell, Rachel Roberts. Notes: Topical allusions in this late-night revue were confined to a nod towards football and Stanley Matthews, and the current questions about gentlemen taking back mink-coats, while most of the programme was based on more general subjects: theatre first-nighters, and “arty” Classical revivals being among them.

Caribbean Cruise

- From July 29th (two weeks) Revue by Donald Heywood; Producer: Donald Heywood; Dances: Douglas Squires Cast: Guy Loraine, John Cresswell, Eric Hayden, Douglas Squires, Tommy Lawson, Dan Johnson, Toni Valdez, Ochita, Lillimor Knusden, Monie May, Pamela Hill, Sylvia Burn, Aysha, Daphne Segré, Shari Notes: This American revue contained “a string of items of unusual banality, which are presented with a singular deficiency of talent. . . the songs (are) vulgar and unfunny; the sentimental moonlight serenades are embarrassing in their obviousness and emptiness” (The Stage)

Saints and Sinners -

December 1st – Revue by Cyril Manning, Maurice Holstock & Betty Roe; Producer: Cyril Curtis Cast: Cyril Clark, Beryll Clayton, Bill Clayton, Kay Feldorf, Maurice Holstock, Gillian Phillips, Joan Rodney-Deane, Juliette Thorn, Joy Toone, Reg White, Notes: The most praised item of this revue was the “Stein Song” in which Cyril Clark, Bill Clayton, Reg White and Maurice Holstock gave a “lashing” indication of Germans emancipated from occupationary restraints. There was also a skit on how Bernard Miles’s theatrical venture at the Royal Exchange might affect the City Businessman. (The revue was slightly revised as a late-night presentation to follow the run of “On With the New” at the Irving.)

On with the New -

December 11th—(short run) Written & Produced by Geo.M. Armstrong ; Music & Lyrics: Anthony Newley, Edwin Richfield, Leslie Conn, Peter Foy Additional material : Jimmy Grafton, Micahel Carr, Dick Vosburgh; Producer: Geo. M. Armstrong; Choreography: Red Strawson; Musical Director: Anthony Bowles Cast: Frank Lawless, Anthony Newley, Red Strawson, June Charlier, Doreen Locke, Jill Adams, Peter Foy This was a late-night revue following the main show. “Anthony Newley, who dominates the entire production, is a comedian of unusual talents who should be given to a much wider public.. . he is particularly good in his own ‘Flaky Pastry’ and ‘Stamp Collecting’, besides providing his colleagues with ‘Nursery Rebellion’, a hilarious skit on the movement to rob our nursery-rhymes on their slightly blood-curdling savour.” (The Stage).

1953

Canfield Smith & “Snodgras”

Jane Morgan

THREE CHEERS

London run: Casino, March 7th- June 20th Presented by Tom Arnold & Emile Littler Producer: Robert Nesbitt Choreography: Hazel Gee Musical Director: Jack Walker Cast: Vic Oliver, Jane Morgan with Betty Bold, Sylvia Campbell, David Gilbert, Hazel Johns, Daphne Kiernander, Al Robins, Victor Seaforth, Mildred Seymour, Canfield Smith, Page & Bray, The Romanos Brothers, The Wiere Brothers (Herbert, Henry & Sylvester), Eight in Harmony, The Casino Girls Notes: This revue received a half-hearted and unenthusiastic response from the Press. The spectacular opening depicted a Comet aircraft, the Queen Elizabeth liner, and the Golden Arrow, each debarking streams of exotically attired visitors arriving in London for the Coronation. Among them were the Romanos Brothers high-speed acrobats who celebrated their arrival with a truly astonishing falling human tower finish. Thereafter the show never really matched its initial impact. Vic Oliver’s following piano excerpts from Chopin and Rachmaninoff (with accompanying dancers) were thought to be too long, and the choreographed scenas were said to be “dull and uninspired” (Theatre World). The whole of the second half was set in “Chez Victor – on the London Casino roof” and was a series of variety acts introduced by Vic Oliver. The most successful moments were Canfield Smith, an American ventriloquist with “Snodgrass”, and an Inca scena with Sylvia Campbell displaying a remarkable vocal range. The show was not a success and ran until June 20th, when it was replaced with the Cicely Courtneidge revue, “Over the Moon” which transferred from the Piccadilly Theatre.

PARK LANE REVUE

London run: Park Lane Theatre, March 18th (short run) Sketches by Anthony Chalmers. Music: Sandy Wilson & others Producer: John Mayer Dances arranged by Rex Reid Pianos: Julian Dale & Stanley Myers Cast: Anthony Chalmers, Jennifer Ramage, Joyce Graeme, Arnold Reuben Notes: This late-night Mayfair venue produced its first revue, with contents described as “reasonably topical, and the production on the small stage was brisk and gay if not always scintillating. Jennifer Ramage made a good impression early on with ‘Pep Talk’ by Sandy Wilson. Loudest applause went to Joyce Graeme for a gruesome take-off of a drug addict”. (Theatre World). Other sketches satirised American politics; the advertising of soap detergents; the enthusiasm for Anna Neagle’s performance at Queen Victoria; the difficulty of “Getting Through” to Railway inquiry offices; and the stuffy world of the BBC studios. However, the show offered “tinny tunes, weak, undergraduate humour and lack of point and precision” (The Stage).

1953

AIRS ON A SHOESTRING

London run: Royal Court, April 22nd – March 5th 1955 Music: John Pritchett, Donald Swann, Geoffrey Wright, Madeleine Dring, Arthur Benjamin, Richard Addinsell, Charles Zwar. Dolores Claman. Lyrics: Michael Flanders, Virginia Graham, Nicholas Phipps, Charlotte Mitchell, Geoffrey Brown, David Climie, Jimmy Wilson, and others Sketches: Peter Hilary Green, Richard Waring, Mary Dunn, Joyce Grenfell Devised by Laurier Lister Producer: Laurier Lister Dances & Ensembles staged by Alfred Rodrigues Pianists: John Pritchett & Kenneth Broadberry Musical Director: John Pritchett

Max Adrian & Moyra Fraser “Taken as Red”

Cast: Max Adrian, Moyra Fraser, Jack Gray, Denver Hall, Bernard Hunter, Patricia Lancaster, Betty Marsden, Carole Newton, Eileen Price, Denis Quilley, Peter Reeves, Sally Rogers, Charles Ross, Later: Rose Hill (replacing Betty Marsden), Daphne Peretz , Joseph Shaw, Charles Warren

Notes: This show, a successor to “Penny Plain”, was chosen to re-open the Royal Court as a public theatre. (The theatre had closed due to bomb damage during the war, and re-opened as a club theatre in 1952. It closed early in 1953 for renovation to bring it up to London County Council requirements.) There were 34 items in the show, with just a few repeated from the earlier Laurier Lister show at the St Martin’s Theatre in June 1951. The highlights were “Guide to Britten”, on the current Benjamin Britten “craze”; “Taken as Red – or Hiawatha at the Albert Hall”; “Sing High Sing Low”, on a popular singing partnership, and “Last of the Line”, on the passing of the last London tramcar. The revue earned universal praise from the critics.

Photos by Houston Rogers

In September some new items were added in the name of topicality : Max Adrian as a Sherpa who fails to reach the summit of Everest; a biting comment on the Communist witch-hunt in America; and “Sponsored Bard”, a warning of the dangers of the proposed commercial television. Other new sketches were added during the course of its lengthy run. In May 1954 it became the London’s longest running intimate revue (excepting the “Sweet and Low” series, which was, effectively, three separate shows.) The sho w was fi nall y withdrawn early March 1955 after 772 p e r fo r m a n c e s , a nd undertook a provincial tour.

L to R: Denis Quilley, Peter Reeves, Max Adrian, Charles Ross, Bernard Hunter In “The Guide to Britten”

IN THE LAP OF THE GODS

1953

London run: New Lindsey, May 6th – (short run) Producer: Patrick Brawn Music: Francis Essex Dances arranged by Malcolm Goddard Piano: Francis Essex Cast: Henry Comor, Jill Fenso, Fenella Fielding, Joan Gadson, Malcolm Goddard, Rex Graham, Gillian Lynne, Jimmy Thompson, Richard Waring, Notes: Among the topics subject to satire were tired businessmen at the Windmill Theatre; the excessively male males in the current American musicals; and the excessively high “tone” of the BBC’s Third Programme. The programme included songs entitled “Supper for Cinderella”, “Deutschland über Alles” and “Turkish Delight”

OVER THE MOON

London run: Piccadilly, May 7th –June 20th Transfer: Casino June 22nd – September 26th Music & Lyrics: Vivian Ellis Additional numbers: Harold Rome Sketches: Max Kester, Arthur Macrae & others Director: Jack Hulbert Dances by Irving Davies & Eunice Crowther Musical Director: Bob Proust Cast: Cicely Courtneidge, with Doreen Arden, Dorothy Black, Peter Felgate, Alan Fenn, Eunice Gayson, Aud Johansen, Margaret Mitchell, Thorley Walters, Dennis Wood, “London’s Prettiest Chorus”. Notes: It was felt this revue relied too much on earlier successes of Cicely Courtneidge, with repeats of her earlier hit songs like “The King’s Horses”. Her character sketches included an ageing Poona battleaxe from Kipling’s India, and an imperturbable English spinster holidaying in Paris, quite oblivious to the scenes of homicidal violence going on around her. Thorley Walters scored a hit with “Small Time”, in which he appeared as a fifth-rate touring red-nosed clown dreaming that one day he would top the bill. The song “Johnny Head in the Air” was the hit of the show. Following its transfer to the Casino, the show ran until the end of September, and then went on tour.

London run: Hippodrome, May 13th – August 29th Revue by Peter Myers, Alex Grahame & David Climie Music: John Pritchett & Ronald Cass Producer: William Chappell Musical Director: Van Phillips Cast: Marie Bryant, Patrick Cargill, Ian Carmichael, Valerie Carton, Diana Churchill, Maxwell Coker, Leslie Crowther, Eleanor Fazan, Dilys Lay, Cyril Ritchard, Thelma Ruby, Joan Sims, Ronnie Stevens, John Walters, Notes: Items included an historical cavalcade from Cyril Ritchard & Ian Carmichael as Boswell & Johnson 1558 to 1918; “The Way of the Dales”, a burlesque of the radio serial done in Restoration style; and “The Shopgirl Princess”, a parody of the traditional musical comedy, with Sarah Churchill as the ridiculously winsome leading lady. Ian Carmichael as a constantly fainting guardsman and Joan Sims as the “Inveterate Poseur” were other successful characterisations. Other targets were troop shows in Korea, Wagner, Sartre, and Fashion Shows, most featuring Cyril Ritchard, the undoubted “star” of the show. “A Smile, a Song and a Lexicon” saw Cyril Ritchard and Ian Carmichael as Dr Johnson and Boswell in a song and patter act burlesquing Flanagan and Allen.

Photo by Houston Rogers

HIGH SPIRITS

1953

TURN IT UP London run: Unity Theatre, May ? (till August?) Music: Lionel Bart, Jack Grossman, Harold Irving, Arnold Clayton Book & Lyrics: Lionel Bart, Harvey Schneider, Jack Grossman & others Producer: Alfie Bass Musical Director: Van Phillips Choreographer: Shirley Macdonald & Beryl Paul Cast: Not listed Notes: A satirical revue “In celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the New Elizabethan Age”, this was notable for the first time the name “Lionel Bart” appeared. (His earlier work at the Unity, often as a scene painter, had been credited to his real name, Lionel Begleiter. He was also credited as assistant producer to Alfie Bass. One of his songs was called “Coronation Mugs”, and was about spivs cashing in on the souvenir market. The show ran for “a couple of months”.

SET TO MUSIC

London run: New Watergate, June 9th – Revue by Diana Morgan & Robert Macdermot Music: Ronnie Hill Producer: Norman Marshall Cast: James Browne, Noel Dyson, John Glyn-Jones, Lois Green, Jean Telfer, Ivan Staff, Norman Warwick, Notes: The Watergate had closed briefly throughout May and had now reopened under new management. The opening revue played Tuesday to Friday at 9pm and on Saturdays and Sundays at 6pm and 9pm. It did not get off to a good start: “This is the poorest intimate revue for a very long time (with a ) lack of wit, design and tunefulness” (The Stage) . A slightly kinder notice reported on “Two dozen mostly topical numbers, all notable for wit, skill and style, but some Noel Dyson of them seemed to last a thought too long” (Theatre World). Notable sketches were the “Welsh spiritual”, and a satire on the Church needing to use box-office techniques to attract a better attendance. However, “The authors appear to believe that the mere mention of expensive vintage wines, rare foods, or ex-King Farouk will result in howls of laughter. On Monday night the laughter was very thin” (The Stage). (A few years later Noel Dyson would become better known as Ida Barlow in “Coronation Street” and famous as the first major character to be killed off in the TV soap)

MORE WHISKY LESS VODKA

London run: Park Lane Theatre, June 22nd (short season) Written by: Kay & Lore Lorentz, Eckard Hachfeld, Erich Kästner Musical Director: Emil Schuchardt Cast: Kay Lorentz, Lore Lorentz, Horst Butschke, Walter Gottschow, Trudi Roth , Dieter Stürmer, Werner Vielhaber Notes: Just one item, “Choir of Optimists”, was retained from the earlier visit in November 1951. Among the new material was “Old Made New”, a satire on the problems of the ordinary German citizen filling out a questionnaire to establish a clean bill of political health that would satisfy the different requirements of all four Occupying Powers.

1953

PARDON MY FRENCH

London run: Prince of Wales, September 24th – December 11th 1954 Producer: Dick Hurran Choreographer: Hazel Gee Ballet Mistress: Thelma Bentley Musical Director: Harold Collins Cast: Frankie Howerd, Winifred Atwell with Anny Berryer, Kenneth Birrell, Peter Brichta, Helen Davis, Ted & George Durante, Tony Hulley, Rita Keane, Peter Jochin, Stanley Robinson, Sunny Rogers, Cecile Tchernova, Bobby Trantor, Lee Young, Los Likajos, Trio Llanos, The Four Congaroos, The Rhythm Boys Notes: The show featured two pianists, Winifred Atwell in a standalone act, encored with her “other” piano (the hony-tonk); and “Madame Blanchie Moore” accompanying Frankie Howerd in his “eisteddfod recital”, an act described as “extremely amusing, fresh and full of surprises” (The Stage). Frankie Howerd’s sketches included “Anything to Declare” set in a customs office, and “Serenade in Spain”, where he played a slapstick Spanish lover. The Trio Lanos scored with their serpent dance, Cecile Tchernova’s ballet-dancing, and Los Likajos with their sword display all contributed to a much praised show. This Folies Bérgère style extravaganza included a number of topless showgirls required by law to remain absolutely still at all times. On New Year’s Eve they were revealed, static, at the back of the stage for the grand finale whilst the other performers made their end-of-show walk-down. Frankie Howerd invited the audience to join in with the traditional arm-linking chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” , and the slightly tipsy chorus line linked arms too and started bouncing all over the place. The rest of the cast, facing front were bemused by the screams of hilarity coming from the audience. It all sounds very harmless today, but back in 1953 it could have led to arrests and the closure of the theatre. The show closed after 758 performances, and then undertook a provincial tour. Winifred Atwell

THE BOLTONS REVUE

London run: Boltons, September 24th –(Short run) Producer: Donald Monat Music: Brian Burke, Alan Langford & others Lyrics: Donald Cotton, Graeme Chivers, & others Sketches: Kenneth Hoare & Ian Norrie Dances & ensembles: David Gardiner Pianist: Brian Burke Cast: Donald Monat, Martinson James, William Lawford, June Dixon, June Blayne, David Gardiner Notes: “The presentation is slick, but it is too long, there is rather too much singing in some poor numbers with voices none too skilled, and the satire, though abundant in wit, is too mild “ (The Stage).

1953

FUN AND THE FAIR London run: Palladium, October 7th – Dec 19th Producer: Charles Henry Dances: Pauline Grant Musical Director: Frank Hagley Cast: George Formby, Terry-Thomas, Billy Cotton & his Band with Clem Bernard, Alan Breeze, Pat Dodd, G. Farfel, Audrey Jeans, Alan & Blanche Lund, Gillian Lynne, The Mathurins, Doreen Stephens, Ted and Flo Valetti, Deep River Boys, Carole Colores Strings, The Skyrockets Orchestra. Notes: There was a great welcome for George Formby, returning to the West End after his serious illness, who, as well as accompanying himself on his ukulele in a selection of his well-known songs, also appeared with Audrey Jeans in a honeymoon sketch. Terry-Thomas with his satire on the contemporary Army and an impersonation of Noel Coward was well received. The lavish dance sequences included a spectacular opening sequence set in Vienna, complete with elegant waltzes and whirling gay hussars, and “Carnival” centred around the dancing skills of Gillian Lynne. The speciality acts included Ted and Flo Valetti, an acrobatic act with twirling flags; the knockabout comedy Mathurins; the Deep River Boys; and Billy Cotton and his band.

THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY

London run: New Watergate, November 25th – December 19th Piano: Douglas Gamley Cast: Doris Hare, Isla Cameron, Michael Jessett, Dicky Dawson. Notes: This revue offered “the pleasure of Doris Hare’s company, supported by Isla Cameron, Dicky Dawson and Michael Jessett. The opening and much of the connecting material was of the pseudoimpromptu order. Miss Hare’s burlesque of a settled refugee informing an American soldier about the points of interest on Finchley Road was very amusing. Mr. Jessett showed quiet skill with a Spanish guitar, Mr Dawson gave some quiet imitations of film actors, and Miss Isla Cameron sang quietly. The show seemed to go over well. “ (Theatre World) “Miss Hare hasn’t the material to make the most of her personality, partly because her three young colleagues haven’t the personality to make the most of their material” (The Stage).

ODDLY ENOUGH

London run: New Watergate, December 22nd – Revue by: Neville Phillips Music: Robb Stewart Producer: Norman Marshall Cast: Beverley Wright, Jane Downs, Allan Gabriel, Noel Dyson, Roaldn Curran, Edwin Richfield Notes: The first half of the show was concerned with ghouls: a good-time ghoul, a bank clerk visited by bats, a horrid child who doses her party guests with arsenic. “The oddest thing about ‘Oddly Enough’ is that a director as distinguished as Norman Marshall should have considered this part of the revue worth producing” (The Stage).

1953

AT THE LYRIC

London run: Lyric Hammersmith, December 23rd – May 15th 1954 Transfer: St Martin’s May 20th 1954 with new title: “Going to Town” (q.v.) Revue by Alan Melville Music: Kenneth Leslie-Smith Additional lyrics: Paul Dehn & Michael Flanders Producer: William Chappell Pianos: Charles Zwar & Atnold Mayne Cast: Hermione Baddeley, Eric Betty, Dora Bryan, Ian Carmichael, Leo Ciceri, Marjorie Dunkells, Myles Eason, Shirley Eaton, Richard Logan, Vivienne Martin, Rachel Roberts, John Walters,

Hermione Baddeley as a grim bell-ringer; as a suburban housewife glued to the television set though the sink is full of dishes and a tapioca pudding is burning in the oven; as a bejewelled canasta player in a private hotel in Torquay; as a cabaret star at the Casino de Paris; and in many more roles was the undoubted star of the show, and hailed as the “queen” of London revues.

Photo by Angus McBean

Notes: The sketches included “Ring out the Bells”, a skit on bellringers; “Room With a View”, setting out the dangers of livingroom television on family life; “Uneventful Crossing” with Marjorie Dunkells impersonating Joyce Grenfell; and “Miss Manderson” with Dora Bryan and Eric Berry.

Hermione Baddeley as a suburban housewife

MORE INTIMACY AT EIGHT

London run: New Lindsey, December 31st – Revue by: Peter Myers, Alec Grahame & David Climie Music: John Pritchett & Ronald Cass Producer: Michael Charnley Cast: Eleanor Fazan, Eunice Gayson, Geoffrey Hibbert, Dilys Lay, Ron Moody, Joan Sims, Ronnie Stevens, Digby Wolfe,

Joan Sims

Notes: This revue was by the same writing team as the previous year’s success, with the return of Eunice Gayson, Joan Sims, Dilys Lay and Ron Moody to the cast, joined by several experienced revue artists. The showstopper was “Rossini’s Barber of Charing Cross Road”, and other items saw Joan Sims as a languorous Railways Station announcer; Eunice Gayson on the film world’s fascination with Hungarian leading ladies; and Digby Wolfe ‘s travelogue to Grimsby.

Digby Wolfe

1954

NEW WATERGATE REVUES 1954 First Edition

- From March 11th Revue by: Ronnie Hill Producer: Ronnie Hill

Photo by Denis de Marney

Cast: Robert Bishop, Valerie Carton, Petra Davies, Nicholas Parsons, Beryl Reid, Ian Stuart. Notes: Subjects covered included Social qualifications for getting a job on television, Space Adventures, the many choices of different detergents, sex change, menial memories, and Talking to Animals. Nicholas Parsons demonstrated the many different ways in which people laugh, and his various character sketches throughout the show were praised. Robert Bishop

Second Edition

- From April 23rd Music: Geoffrey Wright, John Pritchett, Ronnie Hill Lyrics: Diana Morgan, Alec Grahame, Ronnie Hill Sketches: Ronnie Hill, Diana Morgan, Robert MacDermot Director: Ronnie Hill Cast: Barry Barton, Robert Bishop, Minette Clare, Petra Davies, James Gilbert, Barbara Leigh, Nicholas Parsons, Beryl Reid, Notes: Around two-thirds of the material in this second edition was new, though such favourite items such as Beryl Reid’s Nicholas Parsons Beryl Reid “Sweetest and Lowest” and “At the Wedding” and Petra Davies’ “The Cost of Loving” were repeated. Nicholas Parsons’ demonstrating different kinds of laughter was now an act where he presented different kinds of applause. There was a balance between satire and sentiment with items like “Love in the Valley” and “Twenty Years On”, with three Baronscourt maidens looking back to earlier, happier days. Beryl Reid’s notorious schoolgirl “Monica” was a great success.

Birthday Edition

- From May 27th Writers: Maureen Stevens, Peter Myers, Alec Grahame, Michael Nyman Music: Ronnie Hill, Ronald Bullock Cast: Noel Dayson, Petra Davies, Robert Bishop Notes: This new edition was to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the New Watergate Club, and consisted of some old favourites and a few new items. Missing from the cast were Beryl Reid and Nicholas Parsons, now elsewhere engaged. New material included “Occupational Therapy”, “Good Parts and Coronets” and “Representing the Family”. Petra Davies

1954

NEW WATERGATE REVUES 1954 Oxford Accents -

October 66th – 23rd Devised by Ned Sherrin Music: Philip Dale, Ken Corden & others Sketches: Valerie Catmur, Jeremy Bullmen, Charles Robinson & others Director: Ned Sherrin Cast: Margaret Smith, Leonard Webb, Philip Thomas, David Leighton, Wendy Williams, Pamela Harrington, Ellis Dale Notes: This revue, limited to a three-week run, and was a mixture of old and new items the Oxford University students had previously performed at the Edinburgh Festival. The frequently performed “Family Affair” skit on the Sitwells was said to be given its funniest ever performance on this occasion, with special notice given to the comic talents of Margaret Smith. (She would later shorten the name, and become Maggie Smith.) Margaret (“Maggie”) Smith

Autumn Revue

- From November 4th – Music: John Pritchett, Ronnie Hill & others Book & Lyrics: Robert Gould, Peter Myers, Diana Morgan Producer: Ronnie Hill Musical Director: Stanley Myers Cast: Douglas Argent, Barry Barton, Pamela Charles, Minette Clare, Joan Drummond, Pamela Foster, Bill Pertwee, Beryl Reid, Barry Sinclair. Notes: Beryl Reid as a grande dame celebrating the end of the Edinburgh Festival; as an old lady imposing herself on various relatives who think they will inherit her money (though she actually has none); as a TV weather-lady; and as the lonely lady regular at the local pub – she was the lynch-pin and hit of this show. It also marked the revue debut of Barry Sinclair, already an established name in many Ivor Novello roles. His study of the sound-barrier pilot who cannot stand bangs was “one of the best numbers in a generally satisfying show” (Plays and Players). Barry Sinclair

1954

YOU’LL BE LUCKY

Cast: Al Read with Josephine Anne, Sally Barnes, Josephine Blake, Peter Gilmore, Trevor Griffiths, Lauri Lupino Lane, John McCulloch, John Oxley, George Truzzi, Ann Tyrell, The Trio Hugony, Regency Singers, The John Tiller Girls, The Berkeley Dancers, (George Giles, Bryan Marley, Michael Miller, David Spurling) Later: Shani Wallis

Photo by Bert Wilson

London run: Adelphi, February 25th – November 6th Director: Alec Shanks & Joan Davis Choreographer: Joan Davis Musical Director: Ronnie Munro Presented by Jack Hylton and George & Alfred Black

Al Read

Cast: “Two radio favourites in Al Read and Sally Barnes. . . should not disappoint their fans. Also in the programme are Lauri Lupino Lane and George Truzzi in traditional slapstick, featuring crockery and lavish supplies of coloured paint. Spectacle is provided in a scene portraying the sinking of the Armada, and that admirable troupe, the The John Tiller Girls, nearly stop the show with their High-School sequence, ‘Stepping High’”. (Theatre World)

END OF AN EVENING London run: Irving, April 1st (short run) Devised & Directed by Peter Croft Music & Lyrics: Christopher Hodden-Williams, Neville Phillips, Rob Stewart Dances arranged by Lisa Brionda Piano: Charles Mallett Cast: Rose Alba, Warwick Ashton, Grace O’Connor, Natalie Raine, Beryl Seton, Marten Tiffen, Anthony Vickers Notes: This was a late-night revue, with sketches including “Les Champagnons de la Chanson”, and the three men as spivs in “Cut-Throat Rose Alba Competition”. “Three delightfully incompetent firemen let us into some of the secrets of their profession. Noel Coward was rapped over his elegant knuckles for setting Wilde to music, and two stuffed cats commented wittily on the taxidermist’s private life.” (Plays and Players). Martin Tiffen was described as the “ideal revue artist – urbane, slick and possessed of real charm” (ibid). “A fairly agreeable , though not stimulating, hour and a half” (The Stage)

THE PLAYERS’ MINSTRELS London run: Players Theatre, April 6th – (short run) Director: Hattie Jacques Dances arranged by John Heawood Pianist: Peter Greenwell

Cast: Fred Stone (Interlocutor), Brian Blades, Michael Darbyshire, Clive Dunn, Peter Greenwell, John Hewer, Robin Hunter, Al Jeffery, Trevor Kenyon, Johnny Ladd, Dennis Martin, Reg O’List Notes: “This production shows . . . the real pleasure that lies in the simplest forms of entertainment providing the presentation and intention are sincere. . . Certainly nothing could be simpler than this 13-strong company of extremely black-faced artists and a piano, and the lack of conscious burlesque that marks their efforts, despite every temptation to the contrary, is admirable” (The Stage)

1954

INTIMACY AT 8.30

London run: Criterion, April 29th – September 10th 1955 Revue by: Peter Myers, Alec Grahame & David Climie Music: John Pritchett & Ronald Cass Director: Michael Charnley Musical Director: Ronald Cass Cast: David Butler, Eleanor Fazan, Peter Felgate, Alec Grahame, Joan Heal, Geoffrey Hibbert, Aud Johansen, Dilys Lay, Ron Moody, Peter Myers, Joan Sims, Ronnie Stevens, Digby Wolfe, Later: Hugh Paddick

Peter Myers, Alec Grahame, Ronald Cass and the harem girls, with Joan Heal as Jezebel.

Photos by Houston Rogers

Joan Sims, Joan Heal & Dilys Lay in “No Sales Ladies”

Notes: This was a much revised version of New Lindsey revue first staged on December 31st 1953. It had undergone so many changes that the advertising stated it could be considered as virtually quite new. Among the new items were “The Lady with a Lamp”, a skit on a fashionable socialite’s recent visit to a coal-mine; and “Nights of Blackness”, a flashback to the nights of the Blackout. In this show Joan Sims established herself as a leading artist in the field of revue. Other sketches were “Himmel”, a prisoner-of-war camp escape epic; “Geisha, Geisha, all fall down”, commenting on the number of Oriental themed London shows; “From Bed to Verse”, aimed at the fashion for modern verse drama; “Coach and Four” about Continental coach tourists; and a repeat of the popular “Good Book and Lyrics” sketch, satirising the more lavish Hollywood Biblical epic films. In December 1954, “in answer to the demand for that topicality which is the essence of intimate revue” the show underwent a major revision, with seven items being replaced. The new sketches included “Opening the Diary”, reviewing the scandals of the past year; “Teddy Girls Picnic”, contrasting the elegance of Edwardian ladies with their modern counterpart; “Something for the Kiddies” about the newly arrived horror comics; and “Mummerset”, satirising the BBC’s “interminable” “The Archers”. In September 1954 Hugh Paddick took over from Geoffrey Hibbert, to enable him to join the American production of “The Boy Friend” Ron Moody, Geoffrey Hibbert, Digby Wolfe, Peter Felgate and Aud Johansen in “Himmel”

1954

Norman Wisdom and Jerry Desmonde

THE 1954 PALLADIUM SHOW

London run: Palladium, May 5th – December 11th Transfer: Prince of Wales : Dec 18th –March 5th 1955 Music: Phil Park, Arthur Wilkinson, David Croft, Cyril Ornadel Presented by Val Parnell & Bernard Delfont Producer: Dick Hurran Choreographer: Alan Carter Musical Director: Eric Rogers Cast: Norman Wisdom, Jerry Desmonde, Gillian Moran, Fay Leonore, George Mitchell Choir, Florence & Frederic, The Peiro Brothers, The Three Monarchs, Bob Williams, Schaller Brothers, Osborn Whittaker, , Herbert Hare, Walter Wahl, Johnnie Trama, Teddy Hale, George Mitchell Choir Dancers: Ray Landor, Graham McCormack, Terence Murphy, Derek Rosen, Arthur Solomon, Ken Tillson,, Gillian Moran, Fay Lenore, Florence & Frederic, Sidone Darrell, Sophia Wheadon, Barbara Doe, Una Stubbs, Virginia Courtney, Audrey Kraft, Wendy Barker, Susan Beaumont, Julia Catbush, Evelyn Crivves, Judy Finch, Pamela Hancock, Olgalita Mayne, Anne Peacock, Beryl Rigby, Stella Rodgers, Ann Thwaites Prince of Wales additions: Jean Bayless, Tony Fayne, David Evans, James Upshaw, Lydia Kuprina. Notes: Norman Wisdom’s sketches included a slapstick attempt to get into a football match without a ticket, and his efforts as a ballad-singer thwarted by Jerry Desmonde holding a telephone conversation a few feet away. He also performed some “straight” sentimental songs, was involved in an acrobatic comic attempt at drumming and even appeared in a dream-sequence ballet, “Romance in Town”, where he and his girl-friend, dancer Gillian Moran, were transplanted to High Society before being brought back to earth with bump. All of this earned him acclaim as one of the funniest men of the age, his miming likened to Chaplin, and his versatility unparalleled. The speciality acts included Bob Williams and his misbehaving spaniel, burlesquing the standard performing dog acts; the Schaller Brothers’ trampoline act, and Florence and Frederic in a modern apache dance. In December the impresario Bernard Delfont was faced with a dilemma: he had two hit revues playing to capacity business, Norman Wisdom at the Palladium and Frankie Howerd in “Pardon My French” at the Prince of Wales. The Palladium was needed for pantomime, meaning the Norman Wisdom show had to close or find a new home. However, there was no suitable theatre available, so which would it be? His decision was to move Norman Wisdom to the Prince of Wales, and arrange a tour for “pardon My French”. Previous commitments meant the Three Monarchs, Florence & Frederic and Fay Lenore were unavailable for the transfer, and they were replaced with the American dancers James Upshaw and Lydia Kuprina, the soubrette Jean Bayless, Tony Fayne and David Evans

1954

DO LOOK IN

London run: Irving, May 18th (short run) Revue by Trafford Whitelock Director: Trafford Whitelock Pianist: Brian Burke Cast: June Ashley, Alan Gabriel, Lynne Golding, Hugh Hastings, Betty Huntley-Wright, Charmian Innes, Richard Martyn, John Morley.

Charmian Innes

Notes: This show was said to have returned the Irving to its former high standard of intimate revue, a standard which had fallen off in the recent past. “Before the Ball” made fun of the Oscar Wilde/Noel Coward revivals, and “Reluctant Shegulls” was a satirical look at Hugh Hastings’ Seagulls over Sorrento” written by Hugh Hastings himself. “The Name’s the Same” was a sketch about Charles I, II and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

GOING TO TOWN

London run: St Martins, May 20th – July 17th Revue by Alan Melville & Paul Dehn Music: Kenneth Leslie-Smith, James Bernard & Charles Zwar Producer: William Chappell Musical Director: Charles Zwar Cast: Hermione Baddeley, Eric Berrry, Dora Bryan, Ian Carmichael, Leo Ciceri, Marjorie Dunkels, Myles Eason, Shirley Eaton, Richard Logan, Vivienne Martin, Rachel Roberts, John Walters

Photo by Angus McBean

Notes: This was the “At the Lyric” revue which had been performed at Hammersmith from December 1953, but with many revisions. New items were “Trouble in the Far East” with Eric Berry as a thinly disguised Herbert Lom from “The King and I” at the “Teahouse of the August Moon”; “Interplanetary Love”, a story of 1980s space travel but told in the 1920s “Boy Friend” style; and “Navy Blue Suit”, suggesting how the Admiralty could get more fashion conscious to help recruitment. Several old favourite sketches were repeated. After its season at the St Martins, it went on a short tour.

Marjorie Dunkels, Rachel Roberts, Richard Logan, Hermione Baddeley (as Mistinguette), Eric Berry & Shirley Eaton

1954

COCKLES AND CHAMPAGNE

Photo by Keystone

London run: Saville, May 31st – August 7th Transfer: Piccadilly, Aug 11th – Sept 18th Re-opened: King’s Hammersmith, Sept 30th (to end of October?) Writers: Maureen Stevens & others Music: Sam Coslow, Ronald Bullock, David Heneker, Pierre Dudan, Bruce Merryl Producer: Cecil Landeau Choreographer: Walter Crisham, Paddy Stone, Alan Carter, Nina Tarakanova

Renée Houston, Bob Stevenson, Terry Theobald, & Tommy Shaw

Cast: Patricia Burke, Gay Clark, Pierre Dudan, Valerie French, Renée Houston, Pauline Johnson, Miriam Karlin, Frances King, Diana Monks, Phyllis Nielson-Terry, Elizabeth Seal, Mildred Joanne Smith, Donald Stewart Piccadilly Theatre cast: Naida Buckingham, Patricia Burke, Gay Clark, Pierre Dudan, Fenella Fielding, Jerry Harris, John Hewer, Boscoe Holder, Renée Houston, Christina Lubicz, Diana Monks, Laya Raki, Elizabeth Seal, Tommy Shaw, Mildred Joanne Smith, Donald Stewart, Terence Theobald, Peter Townsend.

Notes: Renée Houston’s return to London saw her appear in “Mrs Beatty’s Home Perms”, about the devastation wrought by an amateur hairdresser; “Queens of Sport” as a very hearty huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’ woman; and “Mr Marchbanks”, as an inebriated woman dealing with an over-persuasive philanderer. The revue was praised for its beautiful girls and glorious costumes, but “unhappily there is no more to it than that, and at a time when witty revues abound, none of the sketches are really funny and most are tediously too long. . . numbers that could happily be dispensed with are “Love is Not a Flower, it’s a Weed” and “Civilisation”, whose tasteless words were for once heard only too clearly” (Theatre World) . “The sum total at present is straggling, indifferent entertainment” (The Stage). Just three weeks after opening Miriam Karlin was released from her contract in order to appear in the play “No Escape”, and she was replaced with John Hewer, Revised Edition: On July 14th a revised edition was presented, with several cast changes and the addition of much new material. Among the new items were Peter Townsend’s waiting-room mime, and a wedding speech; a lavish “Drum Ritual” native dance featuring Laya Raki and Boscoe Holder; “Monday’s Wash”, about young love; and Renée Houston’s impersonation of Bette Davis rehearsing for a play. The show “may now be seen without fear or favour. . .Mr Landeau may well be on the way to taking over the mantle of the late John Murray Anderson, master of the large-scale revue” (The Stage). King’s Hammersmith : When the show was re-staged at the King’s Hammersmith, (see below) Pierre Dudan and Patricia Burke had left the cast and Ray Buckingham had joined. Dispute: Cecil Landeau transferred the show from the Saville to the Piccadilly Theatre, opening on Wednesday August 11th. He took the theatre for a four-week period and was given the option of an extension if the business justified it. He sought to exercise that option but was informed by the theatre that the option was no longer available and that another production had been booked in. On September 7th a temporary court injunction was issued restraining Piccadilly Theatre Ltd from preventing Mr Landeau from using the theatre on or after September 8th and from announcing that the revue was ending. A breach of contract dispute was scheduled for the following Monday. He lost his claim, and the show was given until the end of that week (September 18th) to vacate the theatre. He then took the show to the King’s, Hammersmith, where it seems to have lasted around one month before finally closing.

1954

REQUESTS THE PLEASURE

London run: Fortune, June 2nd - January 29th 1955 Book: Joyce Grenfell Music: Richard Addinsell Choreography: Wendy Toye & Alfred Rodrigues Musical Director: Richard Addinsell Cast: Joyce Grenfell, Beryl Kaye, Paddy Stone, Irving Davies

Photo by Angus McBean

Notes: This was almost a one-woman revue, though Joyce Grenfell was heavily supported by a much praised dance trio. “Joyce Grenfell has a limited talent and a limited personality, but apparently an unlimited public, who at the end of a performance stand on their seats and shout like maniacs. . . Their idol is seen to better advantage than ever before. . . (she) has developed an edge which adds point to her numbers, and there is a basically sympathetic understanding which makes her work a constant delight” (Plays and Players). It ran successfully for seven months.

OUT OF THE BLUE London run: Phoenix, July 6th Devised by: Leslie Bricusse Produced by: Leslie Bricusse Music: Neil Sutherland

Photos by Brian Upcott

Cast: Bernard Barr, Robin Bazeley-White, Leslie Bricusse, Daniel Conyers, Willy Eustace, Dermot Hall, Dermot Hoare, Brian Marber, Jonathan Miller, John Pardoe, John Preston Bell, John Quashie-Idun, Frederic Raphael, Peter Stephens, Trevor Williams. Notes: This was an all-male revue from the Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club. “Discovery of the show is undoubtedly the highly individualistic Jonathan Miller, who, besides looking every inch a comedian (in the Danny Kaye fashion) is an excellent impersonator and considerable writer of funny material. He will find it difficult not to be diverted from his chosen profession of medicine” (Theatre World) . It was a limited run. Above: Frederick Raphael & Daniel Conyers talking kennel. Below: Jonathan Miller holding the maypole “Truly Rural”

1954

LIGHT FANTASTIC

London run: King’s Hammersmith, July 22nd – Revue by Donald Monat, Martinson James, Donald Cotton Music: Brian Birke, Alan Langford, Basil Tait Director:: Donald Monat Choreographer: Malcolm Clare Musical Director: Basil Tait Cast: Flora Bennett, Malcolm Clare, Donald Cotton, June Dixon, Michael Finn, Martinson James, Donald Monat, Beryl Nesbitt, Phillipa Reid, Ann Sharp, Philip Sherman, Anthony Snell, Betty Wood Notes: This revue re-opened the King’s Hammersmith after a closure of several months. “Only half a dozen numbers. . . save this revue from ruinous mediocrity. . .There are two excellent pieces. . . a parody of the Sitwells and a song about a teddy-boys picnic. The press comes in for some sharp satire and there is a bitingly imaginative skit on the tough type of American novel. . . There are several colourless dances and two groups of songs given by Anthony Snell with naïve guitar accompaniment and some irritating mannerisms” (Plays and Players) On the other hand: “Anthony Snell is perhaps the most individually talented member of the company. He has a fascinating turn for comedy and sings a French song with most amusing effect”. (The Stage). One of the sketches originally intended for this revue was returned with “Deleted by the Lord Chamberlain” stamped on it, and could not therefore be performed. The censorship laws were such that the entire sketch could be printed in the magazine “Truth” with no restriction, and the journalist Bernard Levin published it as part of his anti-censorship campaign. He wrote: “The item could not possibly give offence to either Sir Winston Churchill (referred to as ‘the Old Man’ and ‘the old boy’ in the song) or Mr Eden; in any case it is no part of the Lord Chamberlain’s job to protect public figures from being offended”. The Daily Mirror splashed the story as a front-page feature, and said it would lend support for the campaign to abolish theatre censorship. Later in the run there was further trouble about another item referring to a famous corgi, and a third which referred to the Duchess of Windsor. Early the following year a “broadened” version was re-staged for a short outer London season and then moved to the Fortune Theatre in June 1955 (q.v.)

OFF THE RECORD

London run: Victoria Palace, November 2nd – December 11th Revue by James Brennan Producer: Fraser Neal

National Portrait Gallery Collection– Baron Stusios

Cast: Eddie Calvert, Jimmy Clitheroe, Nat Jackley, The Kentones, Marianne Lincoln, Ronald Rogers, Arthur Worsley, The De Vere Girls. Brennan’s Modern Minstrels Notes: Although advertised as the Blackpool Summer Show Revue, and despite some spectacular water-fall and fountain effects, this was really a straightforward variety show serving as a “filler” while the Crazy Gang’s Christmas show was being prepared. “. . . the ventriloquism is almost unbelievable but not so very funny.. . . there is still a case for limiting the use of undiluted trumpet blasts to military occasions. Concerning the comedy it is hard to be kind.” (Theatre World) “The Fountains of Versailles is the best water spectacle I have ever seen, and but for the presence of the De Vere Girls (tactfully not billed as dancers) this scene would have been one of unalloyed beauty” (Plays and Players) Eddie Calvert—”The man with the golden trumpet”

1954

TALK OF THE TOWN

London run: Adelphi. November 17th – December 10th, 1955. Sketches: Frank Muir and Denis Norden Music & Lyrics: Ross Parker & Phil Park Director: Alec Shanks & Joan Davis Dances: Joan Davis Producer: George Black Musical Director: Jack Ansell Cast: Jimmy Edwards, Tony Hancock with Glen Blake, Murray Graham, Charles Holford, Ted Hyde, Kenneth Mason, Billy McCormack, Kathryn Moore, Reg O’List, Iris Scott, Denver Thornton, Joan Turner, Trio Bassi, Page & Bray, Lucienne & Astor, The John Tiller Girls. Later: Bonat Colleano, Jill Day, Shirley Bassey, Dave King Notes: This was an unusually lavish production, with an outstanding Paris sequence featuring an Apache Dance from Lucienne & Astor (*) . Further exhibition dance displays were provided by Page & Bray, and the Trio Bassi - conjuring by foot - were hailed as a real find. However, it was the comedy as supplied by Jimmy Edwards and Tony Hancock that was the main attraction. They appeared separately as in “Vote for Jim” standing for the “Jimunism” party, and in “Mr Rhythm” with Tony Hancock as the latest in pop-crooners; and together, as the lighthouse-keeper and his mate, and in a courtroom scene, “Judge for Yourself”. Their comedy success was run a very close second by Joan Turner, making her first appearance in a London show, who had the advantage of a phenomenal octave range to add to her comic persona. Tony Hancock was taken ill in April and was temporarily replaced with Bonar Colleano. When it was announced that Tony Hancock would be unable to return to the show, Dave King was brought in as a permanent replacement. Other temporary replacements included 18 year old Shirley Bassey standing in for a few performances During the run Joan Turner left the cast to give birth to her second daughter, and was replaced with the singer, Jill Day.

Left: Tony Hancock as Mr Rhythm (i.e. Johnny Ray) Right: Jimmy Edwards in “Vote for Jim”

Photos by Houston Rogers

* (Lucienne Lorant was appearing with a new partner, André Astor. During her summer season in Blackpool earlier in the year, her former partner, René Bedau, was drowned when in a rage, he threw himself off the pier, and the high seas carried him to his death. Lucienne and her husband Bob, the accordionist in their act, returned to Paris, where André Astor got in touch with her. He had previously partnered her but had left the act to get married.)

1954

AN EVENING WITH BEATRICE LILLIE London run: Globe, November 24th (till April 1955?)

Notes: This marked Beatrice Lillie’s return to the West End, after an absence of eight years, in her American success, “An Evening With”. The show consisted of a number of sketches, old favourites and new, in the first half, with the second half devoted almost entirely to Beatrice Lillie on her own. Items included “Rotten to the Core, Maud”, “There are Fairies at the Bottom of my Garden” and “Kabuki Lil” – a solo skit on Madame Butterfly.

JOKERS WILD London run: Victoria Palace, December 16th— June 2nd 1956 Music & Lyrics: Ross Parker Presented by Jack Hylton Producer: Alec Shanks Comedy scenes: Charles Henry Dances & Ensembles: George Carden Musical Director: Ronnie Munro

Photo by Vivienne

Cast: Beatrice Lillie with Leslie Bricusse, Constance Carpenter, John Philip, Frances Clare

Cast: Bud Flanagan, Nervo & Knox, Naughton & Gold, Vera Day, Kenneth Sandford, Sheila O’Neill, Josephine Anne, Pamela Bromley, The John Tiller Girls, The Dolinoffs, The Raya Sisters.

Photos by Houston Rogers

Notes: The Gang appeared with their cleaning mops as “The Belles of Victoria Station”; with their rolled umbrellas in “The Stocks and Shares of Laughter”; as Teddy-Boys jiving in a dance hall; and as skittish monks, ringing the bells in “Frère Jacques”. Their repertory company production was “The Scarlet Pimpernel”. “Bud Flanagan’s solo spot is rightly called ‘Same Old Stuff’ as it consists of old songs re-scripted. He gets away with it, however, mainly by relying on the long established affection of his audience” (Plays and Players). The specialities included the “Journey into Space” dance led by Sheila O’Neill, and “Deception by Motion”, featuring the Dolinoffs and The Raya Sisters with its spectacular use of ultra-violet lighting.

Sheila O’Neill & “Journey into Space”

The Trojan War scena

1954

PAY THE PIPER

London run: Saville, December 21st – January 8th 1955 Revue lyrics and music by Michael Flanders & Donald Swann Sketches: Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis & others Producer: Laurier Lister Musical numbers staged by Alfred Rodrigues Musical Director: Robert Probst

Photo by Houston Rogers

Cast: John Abineri, Yvonne Barnes, Tanya Duray, Fenella Fielding, Rowena Gregory, Hermione Harvey, Pamela Hill, Malcolm Hughes, Maurice Metliss, Michael O’Connor, April Olrich, Julian Orchard, David Rees, Kenneth Smith, Sally Steward, Spencer Teakle, Ian Wallace, Leonora Walsh, Desmond Walter-Ellis, Elsie & Doris Waters, Elisabeth Welch, Matthew Winsten, Notes: Laurier Lister, successfully associated with the smaller intimate revues, had moved into the more lavish fullscale productions with this show. The reception was mixed: “The result is a beautifully dressed failure. The sets were lavish, the dresses colourful, but neither could disguise the fact that this was a witless show. So many of the items were without point or meaning, invariably ending with an anti-climax” (Plays and Players). “The result is a fastmo vi ng re vue. . . which Elsie and Doris Waters - “Gert and Daisy” generously retains those qualities of wit, poise and attack that one expects from Mr Lister” (The Stage). Elsie and Doris Waters were provided with very poor material, and only came into their own with their Gert and Daisy act, which seemed very out of place in a dressy revue. Elisabeth Welch’s best number was “Chinese Jig”, recalling the recent visit of British Labour leaders to Communist China, and Ian Wallace led a group of unofficial dock strikers in “TUC Shanties”. The show was a quick flop, and was withdrawn on January 8th after just three weeks.

BLAME IT ON ADAM

London run: New Lindsey, December 31st (short run) Revue by Richard Waring & Francis Essex Presented by Frederic Piffard Director: Patrick Brawn Choreographer: Malcolm Goddard Pianist: Clarry Ashton Cast: Brian Alexis, Marcia Ashton, Barry Gosney, Irlin Hall, Sheila Matthews, Pamela Strong, Louie Ramsay, Jimmy Thompson, Richard Waring, Notes: The New Year’s Eve revue at the New Lindsey was, by now, something of a tradition, this being the third in the series. The sketches included “Television Square Dance” depicting a large family fighting for places near the screen; “Another British Loss”, commenting on second-rate Sheila Matthews actors deserting the country to fade away under Hollywood’s arc-lamps; “Further Outlook Unsettled”, with Irlin Hall as a fortune teller predicting nothing but gloom and disaster; and “A Bird on My Head”, with famous London statues lamenting the indignity caused by pigeons.