Great War Theatre

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

A moderately amusing affair, with hardly anything in it to perturb the censorious. It opens with the British marching into Baghdad. A Turkish spy is going to be shot (after a flirting scene of girls and soldiers) and this has all the appearance of real drama, until it turns to fun with an officer telling him he is reprieved on condition of going to London to produce a new kind of revue. I do not see any harm in this opening; possible the mixing up of serious war with a joke might annoy somebody, but I think unreasonably. Then we have the ordinary revue stuff. There is a parody of a Palace revue, with sham-smart dialogue, including the scene of liquid changing colour when touched by an unfaithful spouse, which came in one of the palace shows, and a cave scene. Part II begins with a ‘chinese scene’ and goes on to a scene with lovers being interrupted wherever they go, a prehistoric scene of a soldier and his love, a bus scene with various comic characters - this is unfair to ‘conductresses’ and bus officials, but that is hardly our affair - a husband and wife turned out of their house, which is taken by government, and pretending to be Germans in order to be comfortably interned, a quite funny burlesque of a cinema drama, a scene in a sweet shop where lingers, etc. is sold surreptitiously for sweets, and a scene in which Morton, pursuing a dentist’s wife gets his tooth pulled out; this should be funny. The sweet shop scene is the only one with any likelihood of seeming ‘suggestive’ but there is really no harm in it and nothing definite to trouble about. I have queried the end of a song in part II (slip) which is vaguely suggestive, but perhaps too vaguely for interference. Recommended for license. G. S. Street. Some more material for this revue has now been sent in. It makes the affair rather more coherent. It now appears, from the literary matter under the title of ‘before the pantomime’ that the whole of part II is supposed to be the production of the Chinese author. I notice on p.3 of this a reference to ‘the god mother’; scene. There is no such scene in the script and information about it had better be received. In this there is a reference to Mr De Courville; not having read the same I do not know if it is offensive or not. There is also a shop scene contrasting ‘before the war’ with 'after the war’, a new song and some fresh business of Morton. I find nothing offensive in these additions. I add that the sending in of fresh matter fatter a revue has been reported on is very inconvenient, as it may alter one’s view. [Dated 24 April 1917]

Researcher's Summary:

This 'War Economy' revue took its title from the expected cost of putting it on but 'in a characteristically facetious slip in the programme on Monday, Mr. Charles B. Cochran explained how he had been "compelled to exceed by £4 15s., or thereabouts, his original estimate of the cost of production" ... but that he had "decided, however, not to change the title"'. The Stage, 3 May 1917.

Licensed On: 28 Apr 1917

License Number: 924

Author(s):

British Library Reference: LCP1917/9

British Library Classmark: Add MS 66164 L

Performances

Date Theatre Type
30 Apr 1917 Ambassadors, London Unknown Licensed Performance