As You Were

Examiner of Plays' Summary:

There is a fair amount of cleverness and sprightliness in this revue and it has the advantage of a coherent story. In the first scene, boost, a millionaire, is annoyed by his wife, a Frenchwoman (Delysia, of course) flirting with count Kiki. Professor Biscuit interests him in a wonderful pill, which can transport you to any period of history, like Wells's Time machine. Lady Boost gets money from Boost, cajoling him, and then he sees her flirting with Kiki again. In despair Boost takes one of the pills and is transported, in scene II to the court of Louis XIV. There he flirts with Ninon de l'Enclos and the same thing happens as with Lady Boost. He takes another pill and goes to the medieval 'potterdammerung'. The Kaiser, Crown Prince, and so on appear in medieval guise and there in much topical satire. Then he goes to ancient Athens, Paris is an interned Trojan, befriended by Helen and again there is of course much topical satire. The fifth scene is a primeval forest. Delysia is a marmoset, and Boost, made to look like one, has his handkerchief stolen and given to an ape - a sort of parody of his previous experiences. This might be made unpleasant but is obviously mere fun. Biscuit appears and tells him Lady Boost has reformed, so back he goes home and finds his house turned into a hospital for wounded soldiers. Boost finds that his wife loved him all the time and scores off Kiki, and there is a sort of hospital concert scene. The dialogue is free in places, but I find hardly anything to object to. The whole effect is that of rather clever fun, without unpleasant suggestiveness. I notice merely, (1) a slightly coarse joke about 'bumleigh' on p.8. I should not object to this. (2) p.20 a mention of Lady Diana Manners - harmless in my opinion. (3) p.28, a rather broad joke - possibly to be cut. With regard to the songs. (4) Opposite p.23, two lines in the Ninon song: I hardly think they matter. (5) Opposite p.29, the last verse of a French song - but it does not sound bad in French. (6) p.7 of the last scene, 'sow' is put in for the rhyme but is in very bad taste, and so I think is the verse about the late Czar on p.8 but it is only a matter of taste and I would hardly interfere. I have mentioned these passages to be on the safe side, but in a generally decent show I should not trouble about them if I were the Lord Chamberlain. Recommended for licence. G. S. Street. 'As You Were', Additional Matter - there is a new verse to the 'Helen of Troy' song - I have put in a slip - which may be thought to be a reflection on the government, as allowing a pretty lady, who ought to be interned, go free for personal reasons. Personally I should treat it as mere irresponsible nonsense, but I call attention to it nominally of course, it refers to ancient Greece. There is no objection to the rest of the additional stuff. G. S. Street […] Manager informed that additional matter can be added to licensed […] 'As You Were' a new scene (III) to be produced at the Pavilion, February 27th 1919. 'This scene does not observe the request 'no scandal about Queen Elizabeth'. She is introduced flirting with Raleigh and ready to receive the advances of Boost, the hero of this revue who plunges into different centuries. There is of course, a good deal of topical satire, on demobilization, profiteers, and the rest. Also several songs and a ballet or two. The scene ends with a sort of combination of morality play and pantomime, in which Raleigh comes on as peace and routes the devil and his myrmidons. Much of it is amusing and though a line or so may be risqué there is nothing really offensive. Recommended for licence G. S. Street. Feb 22 - a sympathetic song about beef and beer has come in to be added to the above. G. S. S. 'Cleopatra' for the London Pavilion, 31 July 1919 'An additional scene for 'As You Were' in the same vein of humour as that piece. It deals with the visit of a comic cockney of to-day to the Cleopatra of the old Nile, where he puzzles her and her Greek slave companions by his allusions to the London humours of the moment especially political and theatrical, mingling airy chaff of Lloyd George, Smillie and Gladys Cooper with the other incongruities of his love making. Harmless if occasionally rather cynical fun. Recommended for licence. Ernest A. Bendall

Researcher's Summary:

As You Were ran for over a year at the London Pavilion, before going on tour across the country.