Annette Kellerman

Montage by Judy Leech. Image on front page: Oscar Asche in Kismetby Alick P.F. Ritchie. National Library of Australia, Canberra.

By the beginningof the twentieth century live theatre in Australia was at the height of its popularity and attendances at both ‘cultured’ and ‘popular’ theatre continued to expand. Both Sydney and Melbourne boasted several central city theatres as well as numerous vaudeville and variety halls. International theatre companies regularly performed in Australia and their principal stars added to the popularity of the productions.

World War I had an initial impact on theatre attendance, but numbers soon returned, perhaps as a distraction from the European conflict, and Australian audiences continued to enjoy a wide range of entertainment. More than 350 different plays were staged in Melbourne alone during the war years.¹

Newspapers, leading magazines and journals responded to their readers’ passion for the theatre and gave it considerable coverage with reviews and commentary and most had dedicated ‘theatre critics’ on the payroll. Increasingly, and of present interest, this theatre copy was punctuated with illustrations by a raft of ‘black and white’ artists who plied their craft to portray theatrical personnel, often in unflattering, humorous caricatures and cartoons.

While a few of the artists had more or less regular arrangements with the press, for most their input to the theatrical theme was intermittent and only one aspect of their freelance work in a highly competitive profession. Without question, these artists were fortunate to be working in a time when cartooning and caricatures came of age and their output was prolific.

No newspaper or magazine in Australia in the early 1900s did more to encourage black and white artists than the Bulletin. It employed some of the finest artists of the time, including Will Dyson, Harry Julius, Hal Gye, Jim Bancks, D.H. Souter, Tom Glover and Mervyn Skipper. The Bulletin was where many cartoonists made their start. However, the Bulletin was not alone in nurturing the growing number of freelance black and white artists; Smith’s Weekly, Lone Hand, Sydney Sportsman, Bookfellow, Gadfly, Clarion, and Critic were some of the publications that regularly printed cartoons and caricatures.

Unlike other sections of a newspaper or magazine where illustrations were usually editorially driven, it is probably fair to say that as these artists were adding pictorial comment to written theatrical reviews—usually an actor or a scene—many of these theatrical caricatures and cartoons were included without editorial direction; the ‘black and whiters’ enjoyed a large degree of artistic independence.

There are too many artists in the black and white school of cartoonists and caricaturists to do them all justice, as such the following represent this writer’s personal favourites.

Many would agree that Australia’s greatest caricaturist was the exceptionally gifted Will Dyson (1880–1938). Arguable, some of Dyson’s best work were the numerous theatrical caricatures he drew for the Bulletin around 1904–10 as the magazine’s theatre cartoonist.

Dyson was acclaimed for the penetrating force of his cartoons and caricatures and saw the pretentious theatre personnel as a target for his acerbic penmanship; although it was once said that while he did not often attack the ladies with his pointed crow quill, he did the ‘wicked deed’ now and again.²

A ‘wicked deed’ perhaps, was Dyson’s 1908 sketch of Lady Dunscombe (Nellie Mortyne) in Jim the Penmanat the Theatre Royal Melbourne, where the lady, a decorative titled visitor of some importance, is portrayed with a rather unflattering figure. More sensitive was Dyson’s portrayal of Arthur Greenaway as the hunched and doddery King Louis XI in the musical The Vagabond King, which was produced by J.C. Williamson Ltd. in spectacular style during 1928–1929.

Will Dyson: A rather unflattering portrait of Nellie Mortyne as Lady Dunscombe in Jim the Penman at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne

Bulletin (Sydney), 17 December 1908, p.9

Will Dyson: Arthur Greenaway as Louis XI in the musical The Vagabond King, 1928

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Other Dyson works include that of actor Julius Knight playing Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel, performed at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne—‘a hero whose tigerish nonchalance gives him the aspects of a drugged prig …’—a description which is perfectly captured by Dyson’s caricature.

Another notable caricature shows ‘Norman: The bold bad man of the Bland Holt Co.’ Albert Norman was a leading actor with the Bland Holt Co. for many years and was well known for playing sinister characters. In fact, one review described him thus: Norman ‘is such a villain as he has been many times before, and the sardonic smile of sin on his countenance is the same old smile’.³ Again, a description well captured by Dyson.

A rare survivor, the original artwork for Leave It to Jane, published in Table Talk, demonstrates the use of sepia wash to achieve the tonal contrasts in the published cartoon, and the application of white touch-up to conceal changes.

Will Dyson: ‘Julius Knight in The Scarlet Pimpernel’

Bulletin (Sydney), 5 November 1908, p.9

Will Dyson: ‘Norman: The bold bad man of the Bland Holt Co.’

Bulletin (Sydney), 19 December 1907, p.8

Will Dyson: Original artwork for Leave It to Jane which was published in Table Talk (Melbourne),
17 June 1926, p.27

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Harry Julius(1885–1938) was another fine caricaturist of the period as well as a most versatile artist—among many pursuits, he was a newspaper cartoonist, writer and illustrator, advertising executive and film animator. But it is his theatrical caricatures for which he is best known—stageland appealed to him as a splendid site for the caricaturist. Julius once remarked that for years he’d had opera glasses on actors with evil intent and it was melodrama and tragic grand opera, not placid modern plays, which moved him as a pictorial satirist.⁴

From around 1907, Julius consistently provided magazines, particularly the Bulletin, with humorous caricatures of performers from across the whole spectrum of the theatre from grand opera to vaudeville and pantomime; his output was prodigious. Julius had the skill of getting fine caricatures in a few lines with unmistakeable portraiture.⁵

There is a wonderful record of some 250 of Julius’ early theatrical caricatures (many of which had appeared in the Bulletin) of most of the prominent stars of the period presented in Theatrical Caricatures, published by the NSW Bookstall Co. in 1912. The book also includes stories on the theatre celebrities by Claude McKay. To view these pen and ink sketches in one collection gives an appreciation of how they would have ‘coloured’ the reviews of current and coming shows which the Bulletin ran in its ‘Sundry Shows’ pages.

One example of Julius’ caricatures includes Annette Kellerman in the glass tank from the Annette Kellerman Show at the Sydney Tivoli. Kellerman was an Australian long-distance swimmer, aquatic and vaudeville performer. Of her Tivoli show it was said: ‘the versatile mermaid has added submarine evolutions, toe dancing and wire walking to an endearing personality, and between them have captured the multitude.’⁶

Another cartoon that appears in the Bulletin illustrates a scene from the light musical comedy High Jinks, produced by J.C. Williamson at Her Majesty's in Sydney in 1915. The Bulletin review, on the same page as the cartoon, noted ‘the fair and willowy Gertrude Glyn as usual looms up in one or two gowns which stun the stalls... C.H. Workman one of the comedians puts up a good plainclothes performance’.

Harry Julius: ‘Annette Kellerman in the glass tank’

Bulletin (Sydney), 16 June 1921, p.42

Harry Julius: ‘High Jinks: Dance Chi-Chi (Gertrude Glyn) and the discoverer of the “High Jinks” perfume (C.H. Workman)’

Bulletin (Sydney), 11 February 1915, p.8

In another, John Coates the English tenor appears as Radames in Aida which played at Her Majesty’s, Sydney. In this caricature, Julius shows ‘John Coates going nobly to his doom, escorted by four stalwart Egyptians. Amneris (Edna Thornton) is grief-stricken’. Of Coates’ performance, the review said, it shows ‘what the portly Yorkshireman can do—when he chooses to exert himself’.⁷

Another cartoon shows a scene from Hamlet at the Sydney Criterion, where Hamlet (Walter Bentley) asks Horatio (W.S. Titheradge) and an inoffensive solder to swear an oath. According to the accompanying review, ‘Walter Bentley has a way of “beefing out” his lines on occasion that compels enthusiasm regardless of the exact meaning of the phrases beefed’.

Harry Julius: ‘Hamlet at the Sydney Cri: Hamlet (Walter Bentley) asks Horatio (W.S. Titheradge) and an inoffensive soldier to swear’

Bulletin (Sydney), 22 July 1909, p.8

Harry Julius: ‘Aida at Her Majesty’s, Sydney: John Coates going nobly to his doom, escorted by four stalwart Egyptians. Amneris (Edna Thornton) grief-stricken’

Bulletin (Sydney), 8 August 1912, p.10

Another prominent black and white artist whose caricatures regularly appeared in the Bulletin during this period was Jim Bancks(1889–1952). His work also featured in Melbourne Punch, Sydney Sun and Sunday Sun. Bancks fame was ensured in particular, with his comic ‘Us Fellows’ which evolved into Ginger Meggs.

Bancks works include Mr Pim Passes By at Sydney Criterion: Ashton Jarry as Mr Pim, ‘only just a passer-by’. Ashton Jarry first came to Australia in 1917 with Ada Reeve and since then performed in several Australian productions. One of his notable performances was as Mr Pim. Jarry also played Count Dracula in J.C. Williamson’s production of Dracula performed at the Sydney Theatre in June 1929.

Jim Bancks: ‘Mr Pim Passes By at Sydney Criterion: Ashton Jarry as Mr Pim, “only just a passer-by” ’

Bulletin (Sydney), 18 August 1921, p. 34

Jim Bancks: ‘Pianist Mischa Levitzki’

Bulletin (Sydney), 9 June 1921, p.14

Other notable caricatures include Mischa Levitzki, the Russian born American based concert pianist who at the Sydney Town Hall was described as ‘the young man with the strong forearms and rubber fingers’ (Bulletin, 9 June 1921), and Scandal at the Sydney Criterion (Bulletin, 26 May 1921) with Kenneth Brampton as Malcolm Fraser, the rejected lover and Maude Hannaford as the heroine, Beatrix Vanderdyke. Hannaford, described as a possessor of good looks, young and ambitious, had quickly become a star of the American stage with successful roles in Redemption and as the leading lady in The Jest.

Oh, Lady, Lady! was one of a number of sensational J. C. Williamson’s musical comedies of the 1920s. The leading lady, Dorothy Brunton was a hit as ‘Faintin’ Fanny a Peel-street pick-pocket; one review said, ‘The New Dot is as impish as the old one was coy and curly’. Her performance is complimented by an outstanding cast, including William Green as Hale Underwood, a man about town.

Jim Bancks: Two characters from the musical Oh, Lady, Lady! at the Theatre Royal, Sydney: William Green as Hale Underwood and Arthur Denton as the detective Cyril Townsley

Bulletin (Sydney), 8 September 1921, p.34 & 15 September 1921, p.36

Continuing with his depiction of stage actors, his 1921 portrait of George Gee in The Lilac Domino perfectly captures the gait of the rubber-legged dancer and comedian.

Of current ‘historical’ significance is Bancks’ cartoon ‘WHEN AT LAST SYDNEY THEATRE RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED: Montague Loveslush and his leading lady, Lulu De Vere, the stage’s smartest dressers, present themselves for re-employment’ (Bulletin, 15 May 1919).

This is Bancks’ take on the news on 15 May 1919 that Sydneysiders could go to the theatre again, with their masks off, after months of anti-influenza restrictions.

Jim Bancks: ‘The Lilac Domino at the Sydney Criterion: A goldfish movement by dancer George Gee’

Bulletin (Sydney), 7 April 1921, p.34

Jim Bancks: ‘WHEN AT LAST SYDNEY THEATRE RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED: Montague Loveslush and his leading lady, Lulu De Vere, the stage’s smartest dressers, present themselves for re-employment’

Bulletin (Sydney), 15 May 1919, p.36

Hal Gye (1888–1967) was another brilliant black and white artist, principally working in the Bulletin stable, who provided the magazine with theatrical and sporting caricatures and in 1910 replaced Will Dyson as the Bulletin’s theatre cartoonist. Gye drew for numerous other papers and magazines; caricatures of politicians for Melbourne Punch and sporting identities for the Judge, cartoons for the Australian Worker, Vanguard, Referee, Smith’s Weekly, Table Talk and the Sydney Arrow.

Examples of Gye’s Bulletin caricatures include Oscar Asche and Caleb Porter in Count Hannibal at the Melbourne Royal in 1910; the popular Scottish singer and entertainer Harry Lauder on the occasion of his first Australia tour; J.P. O’Neill in the melodrama No Mother to Guide Her at the Princess, 1913; and comedian W.S. Percy as the gaoler in Nightbirds, an adaptation of Die Fledermaus that played at Her Majesty’s in Melbourne during 1912.

Hal Gye: ‘Count Hannibal at Melbourne Royal: Caleb Porter as Father Pezelay [and] Oscar Asche as the Count’

Bulletin (Sydney), 27 January 1910, p.9

Hal Gye: ‘Harry Lauder, at Melbourne Princess’s’

Bulletin (Sydney), 7 May 1914, p.8

Hal Gye: ‘No Mother to Guide Her at Melbourne Princess’s: J.P. O’Neill as Bill Bunce, the bad’un (with a few of his hobbies)’

Bulletin (Sydney), 6 February 1913, p.11

Hal Gye: ‘Nightbirds at Her Majesty’s, Melbourne: W.S. Percy as the Black-Eyed Warder’

Bulletin (Sydney), 28 November 1912, p.10

Mervyn Skipper(1886–1958) became more prominent in the mid to late 1920s with his work often printed in the Bulletin and at one time he was the Melbourne cartoon correspondent for the magazine. Skipper left the Bulletin in 1933 to start his own magazine, the Pandemonium, which ran for 12 issues. Skipper later returned to the Bulletin as the art and drama critic and wrote extensively for Australian magazines including Lone Hand.

Some of his works include The Masquerader at Sydney Royal and The Truth About Blayds, a comedy by A.A. Milne at the Criterion.

Mervyn Skipper: ‘The Masquerader at Sydney Royal: Winnington Barnes as the faithful Brock, and Oliver Bainbridge as Bobby Blessington, a social hack’

Bulletin (Sydney), 10 September 1925, p.35

Mervyn Skipper: ‘The Truth About Blayds at the Sydney Criterion: Irene Vanbrugh and Janet Eccles return from burying a poet’

Bulletin (Sydney), 26 March 1925, p.35

D.H. Souter(1862–1935) had a 40-year association with the Bulletin, with his first cartoon appearing on 23 February 1895. His cartoons were fanciful and loosely described as ‘art nouveau’. Two examples from the Lone Hand magazine are shown below—‘Contralto Dramatique’ and ‘Prima Donna Assoluta.

D.H. Souter: ‘Contralto Dramatique’

Lone Hand (Sydney), 1 July 1907, p.257

D.H. Souter: ‘Prima Donna Assoluta’

Lone Hand (Sydney), 1 August 1907, p.412

Somewhat different in style was Souter’s cartoon announcing the musical comedy, Betty. The musical was produced by J.C. Williamson Ltd. and opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney on 22 November 1924. Souter’s sketch shows Edith Drayson (Betty), Field Fisher (Duke of Crowborough), Alfred Frith (Lord Playne), Harold Pearce (Earl of Beverley), Reita Nugent (David Playne) and Harry Wotton (Hillier).

His skill as a black and white artist is also demonstrated by his portrait of Elsie Prince in her role of Judy in the Gershwin musical Lady Be Good, which opened at the St. James Theatre in Sydney on 30 July 1927. The original artwork is in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

D.H. Souter: ‘Elsie Prince as Judy in Lady Be Good’, 1927

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

D.H. Souter: ‘First Night Impressions (by DHS)’ of Bettyat Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney

Country Life Stock and Station Journal (Sydney), 28 November 1924, p.10

Souter, himself, was involved in the theatre and his operetta, The Grey Kimona was staged in Adelaide in 1907. He was also involved with Alfred Hill’s Sydney Repertory Theatre Society.

Tom Glover (1891–1938) was a New Zealand cartoonist who came to Australia in the 1920s and joined the Bulletin in 1922 where his cartoons and caricatures of personalities stamped him as a talented black and white artist.⁸ Prior to this he was cartoonist for the New Zealand Truth and also drew for the Free Lance under the name ‘Tom Ellis’. In around 1925, Glover joined the staff of the Associated Newspapers Ltd. and remained there until his sudden death in 1938.

A good example of his work is his portrait of the theatrical producer George A. Highland, drawn in 1925. Highland came to Australia in 1917 and worked with J.C. Williamson Ltd. He produced Maid of the Mountains in 1921 and many other productions.

Another portrait by Glover was of Tom Clare, the British music hall singer and pianist best known for singing humorous songs. Clare performed in a vaudeville show at the Melbourne Tivoli where it was said he ‘was better when he was less grandfatherly’.⁹

Tom Glover: Theatrical producer George A. Highland, 1925

National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

Tom Glover: ‘Tom Clare, who purveys songs from the piano’

Bulletin (Sydney), 26 March 1925, p.35

In 1925 he captured a good likeness of Allan Wilkie as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Wilkie and his wife, Frediswyde Hunter-Watts, arrived in Australia in 1914 and worked with Nellie Stewart’s and J.C. Williamson’s touring companies. In 1920, Wilkie established the Wilkie Shakespearean Company, which debuted at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in September 1920 with Macbeth. The previous year, Glover captured a fine image of showman and cartoonist Bert Levy.

Tom Glover: ‘Twelfth Night at Melbourne Palace: Allan Malvolio Wilkie’

Bulletin (Sydney), 2 April 1925, p.35

Tom Glover: ‘Melbourne Tivoli: Bert Levy, artist, author, journalist, international vaudeville star and good Australian’

Bulletin (Sydney), 18 September 1924, p.35

Ambrose Dyson(1876–1913), another of the artistically talented Dyson family, was essentially a political cartoonist, but occasionally dabbled in theatrical cartoons.

In his cartoon ‘The Tempter’, Dyson combined political and theatrical commentary with a pointed reference on Ada Ward, a former actress who had returned to Australia after ‘finding God’. Ada Ward first performed in Melbourne in 1877 with some success, but after many years performing in London she sensationally left the stage in 1897 to train as a preacher. Ward returned to Australia in 1907 as an evangelist and addressed an audience at the Melbourne Wesley Church on ‘Can an Actress be a Christian’, where she denounced the immorality of the theatre and its ruination of young women.

True to the theatrical theme, another of Dyson’s cartoon was a New Year’s card for 1905 to his theatrical friend the actor manager Bland Holt.

Ambrose Dyson: ‘THE TEMPTER. Miss Ada Ward claims that the actress cannot be a Christian because of the terrible temptations that constantly assail her—AGE.
Dyson’s retort: True, every man in the world will admit that the pretty actress has to encounter fascinations and allurements of which her humdrum stay-at-home sisters can know nothing.’

Bulletin (Sydney), 9 May 1907, p.18.

Ambrose Dyson: New Year’s card to actor-manager Bland Holt, who is depicted tickling the ‘grim old world’ with his cane. Dated 1905.

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne

One of the lesser known Australian black and white cartoonists of the early 1900s is George Dunstan (1876–1946) who drew under the pen name ‘Zif’. Besides the general run of publications, Zif also contributed cartoons to the Sydney Sportsman and the Australian Worker and was chief cartoonist for the International Socialist Magazine. As one of his many attributes, Zif also took to the stage, regularly performing across Australia as a lightning sketch artist, often billed as ‘Chats in Charcoal’.

Illustrative of his style, Zif created a series of cartoons on ‘Suburban Drama’ for the Bulletin in September 1909. One was captioned, ‘East Lynne in the Suburbs’.

George Dunstan (Zif): ‘East Lynne in the Suburbs: Barbara Hare: “Alas! Alas! Why did he pass me over for a baby-faced chit like that?”.’

Bulletin (Sydney), 9 September 1909, p.10

Harry Julius: ‘Zif: The well-known cartoonist, now appearing at the Melrose Theatre. He is the greatest “drawing” card in Australia’

Truth (Perth), 22 March 1913, p.11

Around 1910, Zif produced a series of coloured postcards for the New South Wales Bookstall Co., in their ‘Art Series’. One set of six cards, ‘Theatrical Travesties’ embodied caricatures of ‘theatre types’, a style which typified his work.

George Dunstan (Zif): ‘Theatrical Travesties: The Scalem Dramatic Coy.
LANDLORD: “I want your board money in advance.”
MANAGER: Have you no heart for these poor orphans?”
LANDLORD: Yes, I have a heart, but it takes cash in advance to touch it.”’

Courtesy of Gary Davies

George Dunstan (Zif): ‘Theatrical Travesties: Scene from East Lynne. Owing to circumstances the parts of “Little Willie” and “Francis Levison” had to be doubled.
LITTLE WILLIE: “Why do you cry Madame Vine. I’m not your Little Willie!”’

Courtesy of Gary Davies

Mick Paul(1888–1945), a Sydney cartoonist of the early twentieth century, contributed to the Bulletin, Lone Hand, Comic Australia, Lilley’s Magazine (cover designs) and the Australian Worker. Paul was well-known for his bohemian lifestyle, his socialist views and anti-conscription cartoons and was a foundation member of the Society of Australian Black and White Artists.

Paul’s cartoon, ‘TOO HOT’, offered a social comment on the influenza which devastated Australia around 1919, while ‘NATURALLY’ presents a feminist view on the prevailing gender imbalance in theatre life.

Mick Paul: TOO HOT—The Manager: “This influenza scare doesn’t seem to have made much difference to us—house full every night.” The Star: “No influenza germ could come within a mile of this show – they hate warmth.”

Bulletin (Sydney), 19 December 1918, p.30

Mick Paul: NATURALLY—Flo: “That beast of a stage manager has complained again about us talking on the stage. He wouldn’t do that if we were men.”

Bulletin (Sydney), 7 November 1918, p.30

Bert Levy(1871–1934) described as a clever black and white artist and showman, began his working life as an apprentice scenic artist at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne. A prolific creator, Levy was published in Melbourne Punch, the Mirror, Table Talk, drew cartoons and theatrical caricatures for the Bulletin, was the dramatic critic for the Bendigo Adventurer and cartoonist for the Age, Leader magazine. Levy travelled to America in the early 1900s where he worked for Weber and Fields Music Hall, then the Morning Telegraph while running vaudeville shows in New York.¹⁰

Examples of his work include ‘In a Vaudeville Green Room’, a cartoon which shows several performers waiting in a dedicated space—‘the green room’ before going on stage. Another is of Hugh Ward in The Emerald Isle. Ward was a major figure in Australian theatre as an actor and entrepreneur. He was one time managing director of J.C. Williamson Ltd. and after resigning from that position, formed Hugh J. Ward Theatres Ltd. in partnership with the Fuller brothers.

Bert Levy: ‘In a Vaudeville Green Room’

Lone Hand (Sydney), 1 February 1912, p.299

Bert Levy: ‘Hugh Ward in The Emerald Isle’

Bulletin (Sydney), 28 March 1903 p. 10

Bert Levy: Self-portrait, 1906: ‘As Bert Levy sees himself from the New York Morning Telegraph’

J. Willis Sayre Photograph Collection, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, USA

By the 1920s, Smith’s Weekly had become the premiere source of cartoons in Australia and unlike other publications their cartoonists were on the pay role, not freelancers. To emphasise this and introduce their staff to the public, the magazine often presented cartoons as composite drawings where all artists contributed; the cartoonists and their characters appeared side by side.¹¹

A variation of the composite cartoon can be seen in the work of, Syd Miller(1901–1983), who joined Smith’s Weekly in 1919 and worked there for some 22 years as a cartoonist and film and stage reviewer.

Miller’s illustrations of ‘Sally in Our Majesty’s’ and ‘Six People Who Make The Flaw’ are examples of his style.

Syd Miller: ‘Sally in Our Majesty’s’, with (from left to right) Hugh Steyne, Gracie Laver, George Gee, Josie Melville (out of and in the kitchen), George Baker, George Lane

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 27 January 1923, p.12

Syd Miller: ‘Six People Who Make The Flaw—Mayne Lynton, Frank Harvey, Sheila Helpman, Emelie Pollini, Raymond Lawrence, Nancye Stewart’

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 10 February 1923, p. 12

Lance Driffield(1898–1943) was a newspaper and magazine cartoonist and illustrator during the 1920s and 30s, drawing under the pen name ‘Driff’. Driffield started his career as a process engraver and went on to work for the Sunday Times, Truth and Smith’s Weekly.

Typical of his work is the cartoon of Mother Goose which stared Roy Rene and Nat Phillips (‘Stiffy and Mo’), two of the most significant comedians of the period.

Lance Driffield: ‘Mother Goose at the Sydney Hippodrome: Stiffy and Mo try to discover what the Dame would like for supper’

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 13 January 1923, p.12

Ray Whiting: ‘Windsor, Edgar and Kellaway, three bright Musical Fellows at the Tivoli Circuit’

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 5 April 1924, p.12

Ray Whiting (1898–1975) contributed cartoons to Smith’s Weekly, Table Talk and the Bulletin in the 1920s and 30s and later sketched for the AIF ‘News’ when serving with the 9th Division Camouflage Training Unit in the Middle East during WW2. Arthur Streeton once said his cartoons display a fine decorative sense, good drawing and imagination. ‘Some of the works are weirdly grotesque, and yet they are wickedly like the objects caricatured.’¹²

These qualities are evident in his portrayal of Windsor, Edgar and Kellaway, a brilliant musical trio from the London Hippodrome, and Joe Brennan, Charles Heslop and particularly Oliver Peacock from Mother Goose. Peacock is an interesting figure. He had a long association with the Australian musical stage, playing support roles to Florence Young, Carrie Moore and Dorothy Brunton. Notably, in 1922, he was understudy to Oscar Asche when Asche took Cairo and Chu Chin Chow to New Zealand.

Ray Whiting: ‘Joe Brennan (Mother Goose) and Charles Heslop (Fitzrabbit) in Hugh Ward’s panto, Melbourne Palace’

Smith’s Weekly, 26 January 1924, p.12

Ray Whiting: ‘Mother Goose’s offsider at the Melbourne Palace—Oliver Peacock as Squire Hardflint’

Smith’s Weekly, 26 January 1924, p.12

Alec Sass (Sass) (c.1870–1922) drew for Melbourne Punch and its humorous page between 1896-1912, where he introduced the Sass girl, Sass policeman and Sass johnnie. After working at the New York Journal, Sass joined Smith’s Weekly in around 1921 as an artist and art editor. As art editor he was responsible for teaching staff artists to draw for reproduction on newsprint. Like other Smith’s artists, Sass also drew composite cartoons, a style which is well-illustrated in his cartoon ‘Fooling Around at Fuller’s Panto on a Hot Night’. Another portrait shows an exceedingly stout Oscar Asche in Cairo, which was playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Sydney.

Alec Sass: ‘Fooling Around at Fuller’s Panto on a Hot Night’

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 7 January 1922, p.10

Alec Sass: ‘Cairo: If Oscar gets any stouter we hope he gets transparent’

Smith’s Weekly (Sydney), 23 September 1922, p.12

Will Donald(1883–1959) was a pioneering cartoonist of the period who contributed to mainstream and socialist newspapers and magazines, including the Bulletin, Quit, Gadfly and the Critic. Donald was one of Australia’s early comic artists.

Examples of his work include a caricature of the Late F.H. Pollock, Lessee Theatre Royal Adelaide. Pollock was an actor and theatre entrepreneur. He acquired the lease of the Royal in 1900 from Wybert Reeve (English actor and impresario) but, following illness, Pollock appointed a manager in his stead. Pollock died in 1908. Interestingly, George Coppin was the first lessee of the theatre.

Another of Donald’s caricatures, published in the Sydney Sun during 1910, depicts Julius Knight and Reynolds Denniston in the romantic drama Henry of Navarre, set in seventeenth century Europe.

His signature profile style is also evident in his caricatures of Victor Loydall and Rupert Darrell in the pantomime Jack and Jill from the Sydney Sun; while his portraits of Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton in The Taming of the Shrew are rare pieces of original artwork.

Will Donald: A caricature of ‘The Late F.H. Pollock, Lessee Theatre Royal Adelaide’

Bulletin (Sydney), 19 November 1908, p.18

Will Donald: ‘Julius Knight as Henry of Navarre and Reynolds Denniston as his faithful watch dog’

Star(Sydney), 13 June 1910, p.7

Will Donald: ‘Victor Loydall as Perks’ and ‘Rupert Darrell as Baron Bounce’ in the pantomime Jack and Jillat the Theatre Royal in Sydney

Star (Sydney), 27 September 1909, p.2

Will Donald: ‘Oscar Asche as Petruchio’ and ‘Lily Brayton “Tamed”’ Drawn during Oscar Asche’s 1909 Sydney Shakespeare season at the Criterion.

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Tasmanian-born Alf Vincent(1874–1915) joined Melbourne Punch in 1895 and a year later he succeeded Tom Carrington as feature artist for the magazine. Vincent joined the Bulletin in 1898 and drew for the magazine until his death in 1915. His style of work was similar to that of Phil May (his mentor) for which he was often criticised by his contemporaries.

Outside the usual run of newspaper and magazine caricatures, Vincent did a fine piece of work in a theatrical souvenir, a pamphlet consisting of twelve sketches (some in colour) of performers in J.C. Williamson’s Comic Opera Co. production of San Toy which premiered on 21 December 1901 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. On the occasion of the fiftieth performance of the show on 8 February 1902, a portfolio of sketches was handed out to every lady visitor.

Alf Vincent: Carrie Moore in the title role of San Toy—“I’m not a littee Boy—I’m a Littee Girl.’ From San Toy: Sketches by Alf Vincent.

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne.

Alf Vincent: Grace Palotta as ‘Dudley’. From San Toy: Sketches by Alf Vincent.

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne

Alf Vincent: ‘Poppy gives Fo Hop a piece of her mind.’ From San Toy: Sketches by Alf Vincent.

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne

Donald MacDonald (Pas)(1862–1945) was one of the finest caricaturists of the early 20th century to freelance his work to several magazines and newspapers in Australia and New Zealand. The scope of his work was not restricted to a particular theme, but he was particularly noted for his caricatures of theatre personnel.

For Sydney Sportsman he contributed studies of well-known theatrical personalities Bland Holt and Julius Grant. Actor-manager Bland Holt, nicknamed the ‘King of Melodrama’, was known for his elaborate stagings of Drury Lane melodramas which he produced at the Lyceum Theatre in Sydney and Theatre Royal in Melbourne. Julius Grant established theatrical enterprises with Bert Bailey and was lessee of King’s Theatre for 15 years. He produced several shows including the record breaking On Our Selection. He also introduced Melbourne audiences to stars such as Oscar Asche and Lily Brayton.

In response to the composer and music teacher Signor Roberto Hazon receiving an address and testimonial from His Excellency the Governor on the occasion of his farewell performance in Sydney, Pas provided a likeness for Sydney Sportsman.

During the 1920s, for Everyone’s, he contributed a sketch of Miss Aylet, ‘Australia’s only trap drummer’ who was performing at Sydney’s Crystal Palace.

Donald MacDonald (Pas): Signor Hazon on the occasion of his farewell to Sydney

Sydney Sportsman, 25 September 1907, p.2

Donald MacDonald (Pas): ‘Julius Grant (Business Manager, Criterion Theatre)’

Sydney Sportsman, 4 December 1907, p.2

Donald MacDonald (Pas): ‘Bland Holt etcetera’, drawn while Holt was performing in the melodrama Women and Wine at the Theatre Royal

Sydney Sportsman,15 March 1905, p.2

Donald MacDonald (Pas): ‘Miss Aylet, Australia’s only trap drummer at the Crystal Palace, Sydney’

Everyone’s (Sydney), 16 July 1924, p.18

Tom Ferry (1891–1954) started his working life as an apprentice with John Sands Ltd. doing lithographic work and before qualifying, he was seconded to work for the Sun newspaper for two years, eventually joining Union Theatres Ltd., drawing and designing posters, advertisements and lobby cards. In the early 1920s Ferry had a casual arrangement with the Sydney Sunday Times to provide weekly cartoons and by 1925 he was the official artist to Fox Films in Sydney.¹³

Examples of his work that appeared in the Sunday Times includes the actors Cyril Gardiner, Frederick Lloyd, Frank Hatherley and Claude Dampier. A drawing he did of visiting English actor Seymour Hicks as Mr William Busby (Old Bill) in the play Old Bill, MP, was published on the programme cover.

Tom Ferry: Frederick Lloyd as Alf in The Man in Dress Clothesat the Sydney Opera House

Sunday Times(Sydney), 29 June 1924, p.24

Tom Ferry: Claude Dampier. who was appearing in revue at Fullers’ Theatre in Sydney

Sunday Times(Sydney), 13 July 1924, p.20

Tom Ferry: Cyril Gardiner in Old Bill, MP

Sunday Times(Sydney), 6 July 1924, p.22

Tom Ferry: Cover of the programme for Old Bill, MP at the Palace Theatre, Melbourne, 20 September 1924, with Seymour Hicks as the title character

Elisabeth Kumm collection

Brodie Mack (1897–1965) combined his cartooning skills with his role as a theatrical business manager. A New Zealander, he initially worked for the Wellington Freelance as a cartoonist before becoming a theatre executive with positions as House Manager for Fullers at His Majesty’s Theatre in Wellington and then with Fullers Opera House in Auckland. Mack later moved to Sydney as Booking Manager for Fullers Vaudeville and Theatre Ltd. He was a founding member of the Society of Australian Black and White Artists in 1924 and did cartoons for Everyone’s, Fuller News, the Bulletin, Aussie, Smith’s Weekly and others.

Examples of his work from Everyone’s included Lee White, ‘the cheerful star of The Girl for the Boy’ at the Sydney Tivoli; and ‘Carter the Great’ (stage name of the American illusionist Charles Carter), who thrilled audiences with his disappearing lion act.

During 1924/24 Mack drew a series of 16 caricatures for Everyone’s titled ‘If Managers Were Artists’. Number 5 in the series depicts JCW theatre manager Tom Holt.

Brodie Mack: Lee White, the cheerful star of The Girl for the Boy, Tivoli Theatre, Sydney

Everyone’s (Sydney), 8 December 1920, p. 10

Brodie Mack: ‘CARTER (not forgetting his lion): The Magic Man at the Sydney Royal’

Everyone’s (Sydney), 16 June 1920, p.11

Brodie Mack: ‘If Managers Were Artists. No.5.’: Tommy Holt, Manager of the Theatre Royal, Melbourne (J.C. Williamson Vaudeville), ‘one of the Leaders of the Tait Navee’

Everyone’s (Sydney), 3 September 1924, p.5

From the early 1900s to the late 1920s the profession of black and white artists was predominantly a male profession, and few women artists were actively involved. There were, however, a number of fine women artists well recognised for their black and white cartoons and caricatures, including Mahdi McCrae, Esther and Betty Paterson, Grace Burns and Ruby Lindsay who were regular but casual contributors to various publications. Later, Joan Morrison and Mollie Horseman were the first women to be employed on the pay roll of Smith’s Weekly.

Typically, the work of these artists, while stylish and amusing, was placed away from the theatrical section of the magazines and appeared randomly throughout, usually as page filler ‘gag’ cartoons or to illustrate ‘women’ stories.

An exception to how the cartoons of women were typically treated was the work of Esther Paterson(1892–1971) who was a student at the National Gallery of Victoria from 1907–1912. A talented artist of street scenes and landscapes, Paterson later applied her skill to commercial art, book illustrating and caricatures/cartoons. Her theatrical caricatures were regularly featured in the Melbourne Punch pre first World War and were prominently featured on the ‘Playgoer’ pages. Her caricatures often featured female performers and her artistic style of her caricatures is markedly different to that of her male contemporaries—her women are more feminine and sensual.

Esther Paterson: Miss Zola Terrill and Ada Reeve

Punch (Melbourne), 7 February 1918, p.37 & 31 January 1918, p.195

Esther Paterson: Maude Fane and Miss Frediswyde Hunter-Watts

Punch (Melbourne), 6 September 1917, p.595 & 12 April 1917, p.595

To be concluded in the next issue.

Endnotes

1. See Elisabeth Kumm, ‘Theatre in Melbourne 1914-18: the best, the brightest and the latest’, La Trobe Journal, No. 97, March 2016

2. Punch (Melbourne), 27 May 1909, p.730.

3. ‘A Life’s Romance’, Bulletin (Sydney), 25 August 1904, p.10.

4. See The Bookfellow (Sydney), 1 July 1913, p.xvii.

5. Lone Hand (Sydney), 1 August 1912, p. 352.

6. Bulletin (Sydney), 16 June 1921, p.42.

7. Bulletin, 1 August 1912, p.10.

8. Argus (Melbourne), 8 September 1938, p.9.

9. Bulletin (Sydney), 26 March 1925, p. 35.

10. See Bert Levy, ‘Bert Levy (by Himself)’, Lone Hand (Sydney), 1 February 1912.

11. Joan Kerr, Artists and Cartoonist in Black and White: The most public art.

12. Argus (Melbourne), 7 August 1934, p.5.

13. See ‘Knights of the Pencil and Brush, No. 3: Tom Ferry’, Everyone’s, 29 April 1925, p.30.

References

‘Black and Whiters IV: Alfred Vincent’, The Bookfellow (Sydney), 1 January 1913, pp. 20–21.

‘Black and Whiters VII: Harry Julius’, The Bookfellow (Sydney), 1 July 1913, p. xvii-xix.

David M. Dow, Melbourne Savages: A history of the first fifty years of the Melbourne Savage Club, Melbourne Savage Club, Melbourne, 1947.

W.E. Fitz Henry, ‘Stories of “Bulletin” Artists’, Bulletin (Sydney), 14 December 1955, pp. 26–28, 32.

Harry Julius, Theatrical Caricatures, with Marginal Anecdotes by Claude McKay, NSW Bookstall Co. Ltd., 1912.

Joan Kerr, Artists and Cartoonist in Black and White: The most public art, National Trust of Australia, Sydney, c.1999.

‘Knights of the Pencil and Brush, No. 3: Tom Ferry’, Everyone’s, 29 April 1925, p.30.

Elisabeth Kumm, ‘Theatre in Melbourne 1914–18: the best, the brightest and the latest’, La Trobe Journal, No. 97, March 2016, pp.6–23, www.slv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/La-Trobe-Journal-97-Elisabeth-Kumm.pdf

Bert Levy, ‘Bert Levy (by Himself)’, Lone Hand (Sydney), Vol. 10, No. 58, 1 February 1912, pp. 293–300.

Ross McMullin, Will Dyson: Australia’s radical genius, Scribe, North Carlton, Vic, 2006.

Carol Mills, ‘In Black and White: The little-known Lindsay: Ruby Lindsay’, This Australia, Winter 1984, pp.80-85, available from Women’s Museum of Australia, wmoa.com.au/uploads/the-little-known-Lindsay.pdf

Les Tanner, ‘The Black and White Maestros’, Bulletin (Sydney), 29 January 1980, pp.134–142.

M.G. Skipper, ‘The Art of the Bulletin’, Bulletin (Sydney), 29 January 1930, pp.40–42.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Elisabeth Kumm for her advice and comments.

While allen dooneand Edna Keeley were wooing the crowds in the evenings, Smith and Beaumont occupied the matinee slot. The attraction was Seven Little Australians, an adaptation by Beaumont Smith of the much-loved children’s book by Ethel Turner. Playing the adult roles were Harry Sweeney, Sinna St Clair and T.E. Tilton, with Vera Spaull (Miss Bobbie), Cecil Haines (Suds), Lily Molloy (Pip), Jack Radford (Bunty), Fred Carlton (Dumps), Olga Agnew (Nell), and Esma Cannon (Baby) as the seven little Australians of the title. An interesting name included among the juveniles is Esma Cannon, an actress who would go on to have a successful career in British films playing support roles, generally village gossips.

The principal characters in Seven Little Australians: 1. At rehearsal, 2. Hector Macdonald as Bunty, 3. Olga Agnew as Pip, 4. Esme Cannon as Baby, 5. Cecil Haines as Suds, 6. Vera Spaull as Miss Bobbie, 7. Veta Cannon as Nell, 8. Fred Carlton as Dumps. These photos are from the company’s NZ tour and some of the roles changed.

From NZ Sporting & Dramatic Review, 22 April 1915, p.24 (Papers Past)

The play was well received, especially by the children in the audience, but reviewers were keen to point out that the plot was not a faithful rendering of the original book. Nevertheless, the acting was praised, especially that of Vera Spaull:

Miss Vera Spaull as Miss Bobbie, and a splendid Bobbie she makes. Although only a child, she has a stage naturalness that is delightful, and she carries off both the dramatic and the comic situations of the play with a finish that indicates a possibility of going far in her career as an actress.¹

Indeed, Vera Spaull would go on to enjoy a successful career in Australia and the UK performing in plays and musicals (see Madame Pompadour). During 1911–1912, she had already attracted attention in The Fatal Wedding (as one of the children in the Tin Can Band), and as Tyltyl in Maeterlinck’s The Blue Bird.

On 6 January 1915, a notice appeared in several of the dailies announcing the dissolution of the partnership between Beaumont Smith and Louis Meyer, “by mutual consent” with Smith taking “over the assets, agreements, and theatrical rights of said partnership for Australasian and New Zealand of the plays … and as from the first day of December instant the said Beaumont Smith will carry on in his own name the business of and pay the liabilities of the said partnership.” ²

According to reports, Meyer’s health had been poorly for some months, and he decided to resign from active management of the Garrick and Strand Theatres and settle in Brighton in the hope of regaining his strength.³ Sadly, his condition did not approve, and on 2 February 1915, he died, aged just 43. The cause of death was said to be heart disease.⁴

From The Bulletin (Sydney), 14 January 1915, p.8 & 1 October 1914, p.9

When the Allen Doone season concluded on 15 January, Smith took over the whole bill at the Palace. With Seven Little Australians playing at the matinee, he introduced a new comedy to the evening position, Who’s the Lady?, a farce by Jose G. Levy, adapted from the French of Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber. This play had enjoyed a seven-month season (175 performances) at the Garrick Theatre in London during 1913, with Jean Aylwin (Gobette), Farren Soutar (Cyprien) and Millie Hylton (Mme Tricointe) as the leads. With a reputation as “one of the most risky farces to be produced on the London stage”,⁵ it featured a scene, where in the course of a flirtation in the offices of the Minister of Justice, Gobette’s flimsy dress is torn and falls to the ground leaving her in just her petticoats. And when her dress is lost, she must borrow that of Madame Tricointe. In New York, under the title Madam President, it played for 128 performances at the Garrick Theatre, with Fannie Ward as Gobette, supported by Pattie Browne, George Giddens and John Dean. In 1916, it was made into a film, Madame La Presidente, starring Anna Held.

In Australia, the key roles were played by Ethel Dane (Gobette), H.J. Ford (Minister) and Sinna St Clair (Madame Tricointe). Advertised in some papers as “The Play that would make the Kaiser laugh”,⁶ Who’s the Lady? opened at the Palace on 26 December 1914, following successful seasons in Melbourne and Adelaide. With Seven Little Australians still running at the matinee, both plays attracted big houses.

From The Bulletin (Sydney), 21 January 1915, p.8

On 16 January 1915, The Chaperon was presented for the first time in Sydney. As Rosamund Gaythorne, Ethel Dane reprised a role that she had played in London. This play had already been seen in Adelaide where it had received rave notices. The plot concerns a young man, Hilary Chester, played by Tom Shelford, who takes the position of professional chaperon at a London restaurant. As protocol requires, when an older gentleman wishes to meet a young lady, a chaperon must be present, with the idea that the chaperon and the young lady are Mr and Mrs Jones, and that they are guests of the gentleman. So, when Christopher Pottinger MP wishes to entertain an actress, Rosamund Gaythorne, her chaperon must be present. As luck would have it, Pottinger’s wife and sister appear on the scene, whereby the chaperon and the lady are introduced as man and wife. And when Mrs Pottinger invites them to her country home things start to unravel when Chester’s fiancée turns up at the same house party.

The Sun (17 January 1915) called The Chaperon “one of the liveliest and original pieces of farce seen in Sydney for a long time”, “It has an elaborate and attractive setting, is well dressed and well acted, but it specially wins praise because of its constant action through amusing complications and their relief.”

The farce ran for a fortnight, and for the final week of the season The Glad Eye was revived. Thereafter the company departed for New Zealand, with the promise of returning to Sydney in the Winter with a new children’s play The Rag Doll by Arthur Adams, and the farce The Real Thing.

As the Beaumont Smith season was entering its last days, news of the death of Louis Meyer was received in Sydney. Although the original partnership had been dissolved the previous November due to Meyer’s poor health, it was now thought that “but for this inevitable change Australian playgoers would have enjoyed the additional enterprise of a London manager of unusual talents and energy”.⁷

With the departure of The Glad Eye company, Seven Little Australiansalso closed (notching up a six-week run), marking the end of the current Beaumont Smith season.

With Smith gone, Harrie Skinner, the Palace manager, was after a new lessee to fill the breach before the arrival of Allen Doone at Easter. In the meantime, the Palace was repainted and renovated.

From The Queenslander Pictorial supplement, 1 May 1915. State Library of Queensland, Brisbane.

The breech was duly filled by Frederic Shipman Enterprises Ltd. with Neptune’s Daughter starring Annette Kellerman, “the famous water-girl”. This was not a live show, but an “Alluring, Thrilling, Stupendous, Spectacular Photo-play”.⁸ It was claimed that the film had “broken all records in America”, achieving an “unprecedented run of 300 nights at the Globe Theatre, New York City”.⁹ Described as “one of the finest examples of the cinematographic art presented in this city for some time”, the film was a showcase for the talents of the Australian-born star:

In several of the scenes Miss Kellerman, in white, close-fitting tights, gives entertaining exhibitions of swimming and diving, her graceful form standing out against the brushwood like a marble statue as she poses before she dives.¹⁰

Neptune’s Daughter opened, for the first time in Sydney, on Wednesday 17 March 1915. Sydney-born Kellerman had achieved success as a professional swimmer and vaudeville star and was the first woman to wear a one-piece bathing suit.

Canadian-born entrepreneur, Frederic Shipman (1873–1961), who was presenting the film, was a well-known theatrical agent, having since 1906 been the manager for numerous operatic stars including Jessie McLachlan, Marie Narelle, Paul Dufault, David Bispham and Madame Nordica. Taking a break from the “slippery ground of concert management in favour of picture enterprise”, Shipman had acquired the sole Australian and New Zealand rights for the film—Annette Kellerman’s first full-length feature.

Neptune’s Daughter played twice daily until 1 April. On Good Friday, afternoon and evening, the Kalem Company’s 1912 “sacred picture drama” From Manger to Cross was revived, having previously been seen in Sydney at Christmas 1914.

The following evening, Easter Saturday 3 April, Allen Doone made his return to the Palace. He opened, not with O’Shea the Rogueas announced, but with a reprise of Barry of Ballymoore, the romantic Irish drama by Rida Johnson Young, which reintroduced Edna Keeley as the heroine Lady Mary Bannon, supported by Ethel Bashford (Nanette), Ella Carrington (Mrs Barry), Ethel Grist (Betty O’Mara), Maurice Lynch (Michael McShane), Frank Cullenane (Lord Bannon), Onslow Edgeworth (Sir Edward Emery), Clive Farnham (General O’Mara) and other favourites.

As on previous occasions, Doone was greeted by “a cordial and delighted audience” and at the end of the play “in response to prolonged applause, he sang ‘The Wearin’ o’ the Green’, amid a scene of enthusiasm, while masses of flowers, tributes to Miss Edna Keeley and other, adorned the stage”.¹¹

Doone was an enormous attraction, and it seems opening night was oversubscribed. As a note in advertisements observed: “Saturday night hundreds were turned away from the Palace Theatre. Those who purchased tickets and were unable to gain admission are notified that their tickets will hold good for any night this week”.¹²

As the Sydney Sportsman (7 April 1915) opined, “The Doone boom is an assured success that is not likely to fade while ever its creator elects to remain with us”.

A fortnight later, Doone introduced Too Much Johnson for the first time in Sydney. His only new play for the season, this farcical comedy was by William Gillette (of Sherlock Holmes fame)—adapted from La Plantation Thomassin by Maurice Ordonneau—and originally staged in America in 1894. The play was a success on its first production (with Gillette in the lead), playing for 216 performances at the Standard Theatre in New York.¹³ This was the first Sydney production, the play having been seen in Adelaide and Melbourne in 1897 with Harry Paulton and Alma Stanley as the leads. Like so many three act farces, the plot defies description. But suffice to say, it concerns a married man, Augustus Billings (Allen Doone), who under the name of Johnson has been conducting an affair with a French woman and giving the excuse that he is visiting his sugar plantation in Cuba. Soon Billings, his wife, his mother-in-law, his latest girlfriend and her husband, and the fiancée of the real Plantation owner (a Mr Johnson) are on a ship bound for Cuba. What could go wrong?

Swapping his Irish brogue for a Yonker’s accent did not dent Doone’s popularity. As one paper summarised:

It was strange to see him [Doone] stripped of his Irish environment, his brogue, and the picturesqueness and quaint humour which appealed so strongly to Hibernian sentiment. The verdict of a crowded house, however, seemed to endorse the change with its approval, though the piece viewed either as a pure farce, a comedy, or a farcical comedy, is certainly not of the brilliant order.¹⁴

Too Much Johnson held the stage for three weeks and was replaced, on 8 May, by The Parish Priest, the hit of Doone’s 1913 season. This played for a week and was to have been followed by O’Shea the Rogue, but for a second time this piece failed to appear, and instead the season played out with revivals of In Old Donegal (15 May) and Molly Bawn (22 May). The season was concluded on 28 May after which the company departed for a tour of New Zealand.

Advertising postcard for the first London production of A Scrape o’ the Pen, 1912

Author’s collection

Advertising postcard printed by Syd Day Ltd for the first Australian production of A Scrape o’ the Pen,1915

HAT Archive

Scottish sentiment replaced Irish sentiment with the next offering at the Palace, with the first Australian production of A Scrape o’ the Pen. Written by Graham Moffat, and performed by him and his wife, the play was presented under the direction of E.J. Carroll. The Moffats had been in Australia since June 1914, when they made their first appearance at the Sydney Theatre Royal in Bunty Pulls the Strings. Since that time, they had been touring the country with that play. This new piece, which centred around Scottish marriage law, had first been performed at the Comedy Theatre in London on 4 September 1912.

Set on New Year’s Eve 1874/75, the play sees a young man return from working abroad to find his ‘wife’, whom he had married in the Scottish tradition, married to the manager of a farm belonging to his parents, played by Mr and Mrs Moffat. Although the drama of the marriage is central to the play, the “exquisite pictures” of Scottish home life and the comedy scenes featuring the bickering older couple were absorbing and delighted the audience.

A Scrape o’ the Pen played until 3 July and for the final week of the season Bunty Pulls the Strings was revived for a week. On its first Sydney production the title character had been performed by Ella Young, but this current revival introduced a new Bunty played by Jean Clyde. This young Scottish actress, who had played the role on tour in England, understudied Ella Young in the role in Australia, and in February 1915 finally succeeded to the role when Ella returned to England. With the close of the season the company departed for Newcastle en route for New Zealand.

The next attraction at the Palace was The Royal Strollers, an English company of entertainers headed by Sydney James, G.W. Desmond and Madeline Rossiter. Presented by J. & N. Tait, The Royal Strollers were making their first appearance in Sydney following success in Adelaide, Melbourne and the regions. Billed as ‘From the Palace Theatre, London’, the combination had earned the title of ‘Royal’ having appeared before the King and Queen on 1 July 1914. Originally founded in 1900, the company toured extensively throughout the British Isles, South Africa and the USA prior to their arrival in Australia in November 1914. Adept at whistling, mimicry, impersonations and ventriloquism (with dummy ‘Billy’), Sydney James was the key attraction and known as the ‘father’ of the Royal Strollers.¹⁵

Sheet music cover for ‘On the Promenade’, written and composed by Madeline Rossiter and sung by Gwen Lewis of the Royal Strollers, 1916

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Sydney James with his dummy Billy, from the sheet music cover for ‘Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser’, written and composed by Alf Ellerton, published by Allan & Co., Melbourne, 1914

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Mixing comedy, song, dance and variety, the Strollers proved a hit at the Palace. As one reviewed observed of the seven-strong troupe:

In the Royal Strollers, who opened at the Palace Theatre last night under the Tait direction, we have the smartest and gayest collection of comedians seen on the Sydney stage for a long time. … The Chief Stroller is Sydney James, a comedian whose gift for burlesque is remarkable; while as a ventriloquist he is not only the cleverest but also the most amusing performer within the memory of our playgoers. Under Mr James are a bunch of men and girls whose distinct talents mark each with a special individuality. Some sing, others dance, they all talk smartly, and whatever they do is done well. … The Strollers form, on the whole, a more skilful combination of drawing-room comedians than any the Australian stage has welcomed, and provide an evening of wholesome laughter.¹⁶

Indeed, the Royal Strollers became a fixture at the Palace. Originally engaged for four weeks, their season was extended to twelve weeks, and they held the stage until 1 October 1915. During their stay their program of ‘refined vaudeville’ underwent many changes through the introduction of new routines and burlesques. The type of entertainment presented by the Strollers was just what war weary Sydneysiders craved, their antics providing a “constant simmer of mirth”.

In Europe, the war continued to rage, and as Australian men and boys were urged to join the call to arms, so too did members of the theatrical profession. With the boarders virtually closed to new arrivals from England, many English entertainers chose to remain in Australia rather than return home.

When the Stroller’s season at the Palace was concluded, Sydney audiences were not prepared to say ‘good bye’ and it was arranged for them to play an additional two weeks at the Little Theatre, the extension also allowing for country visitors coming to town for the racing season to attend the show.

From The Theatre (Sydney), 1 October 1915, p.23. The journal has mistakenly written Harold rather than Cleave McGrath. Harold McGrath (1871-1932) was an Amerian novelist, whereas Cleave McGrath (1871-1932) was an actor and later a cinema manager in NSW.

The next lessee was Philip Lytton, returning with a new Australian drama, last seen at the Palace in 1912 when he presented The Girl from Wayback. His new play The Waybacks: At Home and in Town, like his previous play, was based in incidents in Henry Fletcher’s popular Australian bush stories. Similar in style to On Our Selection, the play focusses on an unsophisticated bush family, the Waybacks, and their visit to Sydney. In addition to Dads Wayback (William Stewart) and Mums Wayback (Gladys Leigh), there is there brood of seven children, and a rabble of eccentric characters that they meet along the way including a bush schoolmistress, Felicity Holmes (Madge Hope), and a Balmain harridan, Mrs Moonface (Ella Carrington). A synopsis of a scenes gives a feeling for the storyline, the scenery for which was skilfully prepared by Henry Whaite and George Dixon:

Preparing the family for a visit to Sydney. The Waybacks’ arrival in Sydney. In George-street. In Bathurst-street. Inside the coffee palace. Dad’s deputation to the Minister for Works. Waybacks in a back yard at Balmain. Back at Dingo Flat. The city visitors. The Waybacks rehearsing a bush comedy.¹⁷

Though critics were not overwhelming in their appraisal, they were unanimous in their praise for the play’s mounting and acting. Audiences were prepared to go with the improbabilities of the story and applauded generously and the “House Full sign was posted up early in the proceedings”.¹⁸

A fortnight into the season, the Daily Telegraph (9 October 1915) observed, “the success of season has exceeded even the most sanguine anticipations”.

The Sydney Sportsman (20 October 1915) elaborated:

Shows of a sad and serious nature appear to be taboo in this city of ‘silken sin and openwork wickedness’ at the present. For hilarious humor and fun and frolic, at full gallop, though, ‘The Waybacks’ is easily first past the judge’s box. It is a kind of foster brother to ‘On Our Selection’, but has a freshness all of its own in the visit of Dad and Mum of immoral fame, and the family to the Big Smoke.

After 12 weeks at the Palace, The Waybacks were still drawing the crowds, but unable to extend his tenancy at the Palace beyond 12 November, Philip Lytton arranged for the play to be transfer to the Theatre Royal, where it continued to delight audiences until 3 December.

From The Sun (Sydney), 28 November 1915, p.22

On 13 November 1915 films returned to the Palace with the Australian premiere of Hypocrites. Described as “morality sermon”,¹⁹ the film might have struck a somewhat sombre tone after the antics of Dads and Mums Wayback, but the attraction of “a clergyman steadfastly pursuing a nude through several thousand feet of filmed landscape”²⁰ proved irresistible. (Historically, the film is now regarded as the first non-pornographic film to contain full-frontal nudity.) The film, which had been banned in some American states for being ‘anticlerical’, proved a money-spinner at the Palace and remained the attraction for five weeks, making it the longest running film in Sydney, second only to Quo Vadis at the Lyceum two and a half years earlier.²¹

Following the closure of Hypocrites on 18 December, the Palace closed its doors for a week’s respite, reopening on 27 December with The Rosary.

To be continued

Endnotes

1. Referee (Sydney), 30 December 1914, p.15

2. Argus, 6 January 1915, p. 4

3. Weekly Dispatch (London), 31 January 1915, p.10

4. The Stage (London), 4 February 1915, p.19

5. Herald (Melbourne), 10 January 1914, p.10

6. See for example The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 6 January 1915, p.2

7. Sydney Morning Herald, 6 February 1915, p.8

8. Advertisement, The Sun (Sydney), 15 March 1915, p.2

9. Advertisement, The Sun (Sydney), 12 March 1915, p.2

10. The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 18 March 1915, p.9

11. The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 5 April 1915, p.5

12. Advertisement, The Sun (Sydney), 5 April 1915, p.2

13. Refer https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/too-much-johnson-7246

14. Sydney Morning Herald, 19 April 1915, p.4

15. Western Mail (Perth), 19 March 1915, p.39–40

16. The Sun (Sydney), 11 July 1915, p.4

17. Advertisement, The Sun (Sydney), 2 October 1915, p.2

18. The Mirror of Australia (Sydney), 3 October 1915, p.16

19. Sunday Times (Sydney), 31 October 1915, p.16

20. The Bulletin (Sydney), 18 November 1915, p.8

21. The Theatre (Sydney), 1 January 1916, p.43

References

Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com

J.P. Wearing, The London Stage, 1910–1919: A calendar of productions, performers, and personnel, 2nd edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 2014

Newspapers

Trove, trove.nla.gov.au

Pictures

HAT Archive

National Library of Australia, Canberra

Papers Past

State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

With thanks to

Rob Morrison