... A true lover of variety theatre They Made Us Laugh, by Geoff J. Mellor (Geom Kelmall. fS.5i STAGE contributor Geoff Mellor, a true lover of the variety theatre, has produced a book which commemorates many of the comedians who were down the bill or primarily ...

... to a subject which still awaits a definite history. Intended for children between' the ages of 9 and 16. it covers the variety theatre, the cinema, the straight theatre and the radio, being particularly strong on programmes for children. The illustrations ...

... circus band. In those days after the First World War musical jobs were relatively easy to find. He played in cinema and variety theatre orchestras, moved to London, where he was drummer at the Holborn Empire, and eventually went into the dance bands of Al ...

... United States, leaving it to fend for itself and surviving largely because of Jack Hylton, who booked it for a tour of variety theatres, which was enormously successful. The more secure the orchestra became, with tours overseas and an annual residency at ...

... held the destinies of performers in their hands. It is splendidly illustrated with all kinds of memorabilia drawings of variety theatres, programmes and hand bills, contracts, pages from The Perfor mer- and has information about travell ing, digs, band calls ...

... theatres re fers to those outside the socially approved houses in London and the big cities, including melodrama and variety theatres, the penny gaffs', fit-up com panies and those which arose to meet the needs of ethnic minorities, more especially ...

... impresario in his own right in this country and overseas, working his top troupes incredibly hard, especially when the variety theatres declined and cine-variety came in. Doremy Vernon, herself a former Tiller Girl, bases her book on the testimony of 200 ...

... time adding to his kit and repertoire and gaining a reputation as a xylophonist. Then it was time for London and the variety theatres, including Holbom Empire, seasons with Gerald Bright (Geraldo) and the cultivated A1 Davison at St. Annes and Douglas ...

... plan? of 1,000 entries. The o uMm of London theatres pUK s of those dimensions of t f We6t.y,i,d and thoatres, Ust of variety theatres has gone-of Paris theatres and of New York theatres, and a mass of other information fill up to over- Bowing tills w ...

... instead of doves and rabbits. He started at the old Queens Park Hippodrome, Manchester in 1937 and played nearly all the variety theatres and, when these closed in the fifties, many of the clubs which replaced them. The book is full of tales of life on the ...

... of education from more middle-class backgrounds. By the early years of the last century Scotland possessed a wealth of variety theatres, nearly all of which have disappeared. But to these must be added the seasonal theatres at Scottish seaside resorts, ...

... £12.99 When the late Roger Baker wrote his book Drag in 1968, female impersonation was regarded as belonging to the variety theatres and certain night clubs. Danny La Rue had just begun his rise to fame and I well remember, when doing the publicity for ...