R.S.V.P. 1926

RSVP at The Vaudeville is a a good revue. Letter to Carol Brown 3rd June 1926

The Vaudeville Theatre, which stands on the northern side of the Strand opened on the 23rd of February 1926 with a revue called 'R.S.V.P' by Archie de Bear. It is actually the Third Theatre on this same site since 1870, having been reconstructed three times over its long history.



The revue R.S.V.P., including Alice in Lumberland, 'a fantasy in three phases,' written by Archibald de Bear, with ballet and incidental music by Norman O'Neill, with additional scenes and lyrics by Reginald Arkell, was produced at the Vaudeville Theatre, London, on 23 February 1926. With dances arranged by J.W. Jackson and the ballet choreographed by Quentin Tod, with settings, costumes by Clifford Pember, the piece included a cast headed by Cyril Ritchard, Robert Hale, J.H. Roberts, Quentin Tod, Joyce Barbour, Mimi Crawford and Enid Stamp-Taylor. The number of performances is uncertain because of the General Strike, but is thought to be in the region of 294, closing on 6 November 1926.



Some of the revues included:

SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD (by Lewis Young and Ray Henderson) Cyril Richards with Mimi Crawford

MY BACHELOR DAYS (by Austin Melford and Melville Gideon)

WORSE-THAN-ANY-MARY (by Greatrex Newman). Cyril Richards played Hale Fellow Well Set in this parody of MERCENARY MARY, a "Hippodrome success".

ALICE IN LUMBERLAND by Archibald de Bear; Cyril Richards played Mr. Brown-Jones and the Mad Hatter to Mimi Crawford's Alice.

FAMILY BRIDGE (by J. H. Roberts and Greatrex Newman); Cyril Richards played the irascible Major Trevor.

HOW D'YOU DO? (by James Heard and Melville Gideon)

SENTIMENTAL ME (by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rogers) Cyril Richards with Mimi Crawford, J.H. Roberts and Joyce Barbour

HOUP-LA!, the finale which involved the entire company.

Miss Gwen Farrar

"What'll I do? wailed the woman, just like MISS GWEN FARRAR The Woman Who Buried Cats - a poem by Malcolm Lowry 1926

The deep-voiced, cello-playing comedienne Gwen Farrar (1899-1944) was best known as the on- and off-stage partner of Norah Blaney (1894-1984) throughout most of the 1920s and 30s.

I imagine that Malc caught her act during the 20's in a theatre in New Brighton, Birkenhead or Liverpool. This is yet another example of Lowry referring to "low brow" cultural icons in his work which sit alongside his more literary and esoteric references.

The silent Pathe short below of revue stars Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney fooling around on the golf course seems appropriate given Malc's love of golf. This silent clip is accompanied by their 1922 recording of "Second Hand Rose"

THE STARS "OFF-STAGE" MISS NORAH BLANEY AND MISS GWEN FARRAR THE FAMOUS REVUE ARTISTES.

The most in-depth biography that I can find on Gwen Farrar can be read at John Culme's Footlight Notes



They all fall in love - Gwen Farrar and Norah Blaney:



Moanin' for you - Norah Blaney and Gwen Farrar:

Richard 11

A young Malc was taken by his father to see a version of Shakespeare's play at the Birkenhead Hippodrome circa 1919 (Bowker Pursued By Furies P 16).

King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England (ruled 1377–1399) and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's successors: Henry IV, part 1, Henry IV, part 2, and Henry V. It may not have been written as a stand-alone work.

Although the First Folio (1623) edition of Shakespeare's works lists the play as a history play, the earlier Quarto edition of 1597 calls itself The tragedie of King Richard the second. Read more on Wikipedia