Rosy Island

Researcher's Summary:

In May 1918 Tom Major was producing, and his wife Kitty Major was performing in, a revue entitled ‘Special Edition’ that had evolved out of the revue ‘Stop Press’ (which is also in the Great War Theatre database). Then in June and July they presented a new musical comedy, ‘Rosy Island’, written by Tom Major with music by J. E. Machin, before briefly reverting to ‘Special Edition’. Finally, by September 1918 they were concentrating again on ‘Rosy Island’ with, by December, Tom Major performing as well as producing. In the absence of an Examiner of Plays’ Summary it is worth describing the plot: ‘The story is somewhat new, and tells how a number of girls, whilst on a pleasure cruise, become wrecked on an island, where they are called upon to provide for themselves until rescued. There is a love interest hidden away beneath a vein of intrigue, which adds much to the attractiveness of the plot’ (The Era, 5 June 1918). There were three scenes: ‘Scene 1.- Sunshine Beach England (in the Season). Scene 2.- On Deck of S.Y. “Iona” in the Tropics. Scene 3.- A Cosy Cove on Rosy Island (twelve months later)’ (Boston Guardian, 4 January 1919). Reviewers noticed some Great War-related elements. One of the characters, Jack Rochet or Rocket, was a discharged soldier (The Stage, 12 December 1918). In addition Kitty Major, even after the end of the war, delivered ‘a rather forcible monologue’, taken over from ‘Special Edition’, entitled ‘A Wounded Tommy’s opinion of a Conscientious Objector’, copies of which were sold to the audience; and a male member of the company gave ‘a pathetic war recitation’ (Boston Guardian, 11 January 1919). Kitty Major’s monologue may be the item described by the Staffordshire Sentinel, 17 December 1918, as ‘a wounded Tommy’s opinion of a Conchy’ which proved very popular. It is not clear what happened after 8 March 1919. The Loughborough Echo, 24 January 1919, had claimed, or perhaps reported a claim by Tom Major, that ‘“Rosy Island” has been playing to full capacity everywhere, and so successful has it proved that a second company is now rehearsing to tour the provinces’. That did not materialise. On 3 April 1919 Tom Major advertised in The Stage for theatres for the following Monday and for 14 April for a new musical comedy revue, ‘Ginger’. In The Stage, 5 June 1919, he put the entire production of ‘Rosy Island’ up for sale, scenery and dresses included. Then on 24 July 1919 he advertised for all old members of the ‘Rosy Island’ company, principals and chorus, ‘to rejoin for further tour’. But subsequent reviews of the company were for ‘Ginger’. Some of the characters in this had the same names as characters in ‘Rosy Island’: Sadie Dollars, Lord Linger, Bill, John Rocket and Jacob (The Stage, 25 September 1919). ‘Ginger’ also borrowed from the plot of ‘Rosy Island’: ‘The outline of the production, when stripped of its many diversions, concerns a certain imposture that is discovered, and Sadie Dollars, the Queen of Revue (Vera Hind) and her company, who are cast ashore on an uninhabited South Sea Island’ (Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal, 24 and 25 October 1919). ‘Rosy Island’ may have evolved into ‘Ginger’ in the same way that ‘Stop Press’ had evolved into ‘Special Edition’, but because, if it did, it did so several months after the end of the Great War, it has not been pursued further.