''Cavalcade'' is a play by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

with songs by Coward and others. It focuses on three decades in the life of the Marryots, an upper-middle-class British family, and their servants, beginning in 1900 and ending in 1930, a year before the premiere. It is set against major historical events of the period, including the

Relief of Mafeking The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mafikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of ...

; the death of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

; the sinking of the RMS ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

''; and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The popular songs at the time of each event were interwoven into the score. The play was premiered in London in 1931 at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

, directed by the author. The spectacular production presented by the impresario Charles B. Cochran, involved a huge cast and massive sets. The play was very successful and ran for almost a year. It took advantage of the large stage of the Drury Lane Theatre with its hydraulics and moving components to dramatise the events.

Background and production

During the run of his successful comedy ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetu ...

'' in London in 1930, Coward discussed with the impresario

C. B. Cochran Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...

the idea of a large, spectacular production to follow the intimate ''Private Lives''. He considered the idea of an epic set in the French revolution, but in an old copy of the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...

'' he saw a photograph of a troopship leaving for the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, which gave him the idea for the new play. He outlined his scenario to Cochran and asked him to secure the

Coliseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...

, London's largest theatre. Cochran was unable to do so, but was able to book the

, which was not much smaller, provided Coward could guarantee an approximate opening date.Mander and Mitchenson, pp. 166–1567 Coward and his designer

Gladys Calthrop Gladys Edith Mabel Calthrop (''née'' Treeby; 29 March 1894 – 7 March 1980) was an artist and leading British stage designer. She is best known as the set and costume designer for many of Noël Coward's plays and musicals. Life and career Calthr ...

inspected Drury Lane and found it adequate in terms of the size of its stage and its technical facilities, although two extra hydraulic lifts had to be installed for quick changes of scenery, and unlike the Coliseum it lacked the revolving stage Coward wanted. While Calthrop began designing hundreds of costumes and twenty-two sets, Coward worked on the script, which he completed in August 1931. Rehearsals began the following month. With four hundred cast and crew members involved in the production, Coward divided the crowd into groups of twenty and assigned each a leader. Because remembering individual names would be impossible, everyone was given a colour and number for easy identification, thus allowing Coward to direct "Number 7 red" to cross downstage and shake hands with "Number 15 yellow and black". Extras were encouraged to create their own bits of stage business, as long as it did not draw attention from the main action of the scene. ''Cavalcade'' premiered on 13 October 1931, starring

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

and Edward Sinclair as the Marryot parents and featuring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

, Una O'Connor, Moya Nugent,

Arthur Macrae William Arthur Schröpfer (17 March 1908 – 25 February 1962) known by the pen name and stage name Arthur Macrae was an English playwright and comic actor. He graduated from RADA in 1928; with acting work including the original West End producti ...

, Irene Browne and Maidie Andrews in supporting roles. Despite a brief delay caused by a mechanical problem early in the first act, the performance was a strong success, and the play went on to become one of the year's biggest West End hits, running for 405 performances. The play closed in September 1932.

Original cast

*Jane Marryot –

*Robert Marryot – Edward Sinclair *Ellen Bridges – Una O'Connor *Alfred Bridges – Fred Groves *Margaret Harris –

Irene Browne Irene Browne (29 June 1896 – 24 July 1965) was an English stage and film actress and singer who appeared in plays and musicals including ''No, No, Nanette''. Later in her career, she became particularly associated with the works of Noël Coward ...

*Edith Harris –

Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based in the Royal Albe ...

*Edward Marryot –

*Joe Marryot –

*Fanny Bridges –

*Edith (as a child) – Veronica Vanderlyn *Edward (as a child) – Peter Vokes *Joe (as a child) – Leslie Flack *Fanny (as a child) – Dorothy Keefe *Laura Marsden (Mirabelle) –

Strella Wilson Austral Groves "Strella" Wilson (19 December 1894 – 10 February 1989) was an Australian soprano, World War II troop entertainer, and radio personality. She was not only a favorite in Australia, but also performed in North America, England, H ...

*Henry Charteris (Lieutenant Edgar) – Eric Puneur *Rose Darling (Ada) –

Maidie Andrews Maidie Andrews (27 September 1893 – 13 October 1986) was an English actress and singer who, in career that spanned six decades, was a child actress and later a stage beauty who appeared in musical comedy including the original London pro ...

*Nicky Banks (Tom Jolly) – Billy Fry *Cook – Laura Smithson *Annie –

Merle Tottenham Merle Tottenham (22 January 1901 – 18 July 1958) was a British stage and film actress. Her stage work included the original West End production of Noël Coward's ''Cavalcade'' in 1931; and she reprised her role as Annie the servant in the sub ...

*Mrs Snapper –

Edie Martin Edie Martin (1 January 1880 – 22 February 1964) was a British actress. She was a ubiquitous performer, on stage from 1886, playing generally small parts but in high demand, appearing in scores of British films (although often uncredited). ...

*Flo Grainger – Dorothy Monkman *George Grainger – Bobby Blythe *Daisy Devon – Moya Nugent *Marion Christie – Betty Hare *Netta Lake – Phyllis Harding *Connie Crawshay – Betty Shale *Tim Bateman – Philip Clarke *Douglas Finn – John Beerbohm *Lord Martlett –

Anthony Pelissier Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier (27 July 1912 – 2 April 1988) was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director. Biography Pelissier was born in Barnet and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. ...

*Uncle Harry – Aly Ford *Uncle George – Charles Wingrove *Uncle Dick – Walter Rayland *Uncle Jack – Tod Squires *Uncle Bob – Tom Carlisle *Uncle Jim – William McGuigan *Freda Weddell – Lena Brand *Olive Frost – Marcelle Turner *Gladys (Parlourmaid) – Dorothy Drover *A communist – Anthony Blair *A religious fanatic – Enid Clinton-Baddeley *A wireless announcer – W. A. H. Harrison *Pianist at night club – Jack London *Trumpeter at night club – Leslie Thompson Crowds, Soldiers, Sailors, Guests, etc.

Synopsis

Part I

Scene 1: Sunday 31 December 1899. The drawing-room of a London House

It is nearly midnight. Robert and Jane Marryot are seeing in the New Year quietly together in their London house. Their happiness is clouded by the Boer War: Jane's brother is besieged in Mafeking, and Robert himself will shortly be going to South Africa. Robert and Jane invited their butler, Bridges, and his wife, Ellen, to join them. Bells, shouting, and sirens outside usher in the New Year, and Robert proposes a toast to 1900. Hearing her two boys stirring upstairs, Jane runs up to see after them, and her husband calls to her to bring them down to join the adults.

Scene 2: Saturday 27 January 1900. A dockside

A month later, a contingent of volunteers are leaving for the war. On the dockside Jane and Ellen are seeing off Robert and Bridges. As the men go aboard, Jane comforts Ellen, who is crying. A band strikes up "Soldiers of the Queen". The volunteers wave their farewells to the cheering crowd.

Scene 3: Friday 8 March 1900. The drawing-room of the Marryots' house

The Marryot boys, Edward, aged twelve, and Joe, aged eight, are playing soldiers with a young friend, Edith Harris. She objects to being made to play "the Boers", and they begin to quarrel. The noise brings in their mothers. Joe throws a toy at Edith, and is sharply slapped by Jane, whose nerves are on edge with anxiety about her brother and her husband. Her state of mind is not helped by a barrel-organ outside, playing "Soldiers of the Queen" under the window. Margaret, Edith's mother, sends the organ-grinder away and proposes to take Jane to the theatre to take her mind off her worry.

Scene 4: Friday 8 May 1900. A theatre

Jane and Margaret are in a stage-box, watching ''MirabeIle'', the currently popular

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. The plot is the usual froth, but the denouement is not reached: the theatre manager comes onstage to announce that Mafeking has been relieved. Joyous uproar breaks out; the audience claps and cheers and some begin to sing "Auld Lang Syne".

Scene 5: Monday 21 January 1901. The kitchen of the Marryots' house

The cook, Annie the parlourmaid, and Ellen's mother Mrs Snapper are preparing a special tea to greet Bridges on his return from the war. He comes in with Ellen, looking well, and kisses his little baby, Fanny. He tells them that he has bought a public house so that he and Ellen can work for themselves in future. The celebratory mood is dampened when Annie brings in a newspaper reporting that Queen Victoria is dying.

Scene 6: Sunday 27 January 1901. Kensington Gardens

This scene is all in mime. Robert and Jane are walking in Kensington Gardens with their children when they meet Margaret and Edith Harris. Everyone is in black, solemn and silent, following the Queen's death.

Scene 7: Saturday 2 February 1901. The Marryots' drawing-room

On the balcony, Jane, Margaret, their children and the servants are watching Queen Victoria's funeral procession. Robert, who has won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

is walking in the procession, and Jane has some difficulty in making her boys suppress their excitement and pay due respect as the coffin passes. As the lights fade, Joe comments, "She must have been a very little lady ".

Scene 8: Thursday 14 May 1903. The grand staircase of a London house

Jane and Robert are attending a grand ball given by the Duchess of Churt. The Major-domo announces, "Sir Robert and Lady Marryot".

Part II

Scene I: Saturday 16 June 1906. The bar parlour of a London public house

Jane has brought her son Edward, now eighteen, to see Ellen in the flat above the public house. They have just finished tea, together with Flo and George, relations of the Bridges. Seven-year-old Fanny has been dancing to entertain them. Bridges enters, clearly drunk. Jane, dismayed, makes a tactful departure. Bridges starts to bully Fanny and is ejected from the room by George and Flo.

Scene 2: Saturday 16 June 1906. A London street (exterior of the public house)

After emerging from the pub, Bridges carries on up the road. He is knocked down and killed by a car.

Scene 3: Wednesday 10 March 1909. The private room of a London restaurant

Edward Marryot is holding his twenty-first birthday party, with many smart young guests. Rose, an actress from the old ''Mirabelle'' production, proposes his health and sings the big waltz number from the show.

Scene 4: Monday 25 July 1910. The beach of a popular seaside resort

A concert party of six "Uncles" is performing in a bandstand. Ellen and her family are there and Fanny wins a prize for a song and dance competition. They unexpectedly meet Margaret, Jane and Joe. Ellen tells them that she has kept on the pub since her husband's death and that Fanny is now at a dancing-school and determined to go on the stage.

Scene 5: Sunday 14 April 1912. The deck of an Atlantic liner

Edward has married Edith Harris, and they are on their honeymoon. They speculate blithely how long the initial bliss of marriage will last. As they walk off, she lifts her cloak from where it has been draped on the ship rail, revealing the name

on a lifebelt. The lights fade into complete darkness; the orchestra plays "Nearer, My God, to Thee " very quietly.

Scene 6: Tuesday 4 August 1914. The Marryots' drawing-room

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

has been declared. Robert and Joe are keen to join the army. Jane is horrified, and refuses to indulge in the jingoisim she sees around her.

Scene 7: 1914–1915–1916–1917–1918. Marching

Soldiers are seen endlessly marching. The orchestra plays songs of the First World War.

Scene 8: Tuesday 22 October 1918. A restaurant

Joe and Fanny – now a rising young actress – are dining in a West End restaurant. Joe is in army officer's uniform. He is on leave but is about to return to the Front. They discuss marriage, but she envisages opposition from his family, and bids him wait until he is back from the war for good.

Scene 9: Tuesday 22 October 1918. A railway station

Jane sees Joe off at the railway station. Like many of the women on the platform she is distressed.

Scene 10: Monday 11 November 1918. The Marryots' drawing-room

Ellen visits Jane, having found out that Joe is emotionally involved with her daughter. The two mothers fall out: Ellen thinks Jane regards Fanny as beneath Joe socially. As Ellen is leaving, the maid brings in a telegram. Jane opens it and tells Ellen. "You needn't worry about Fanny and Joe any more, Ellen. He won't be able to come back at all, because he's dead."

Scene 11: Monday 11 November 1918. Trafalgar Square

Surrounded by the frantic revelry of Armistice Night, Jane is walking, dazed, through Trafalgar Square. With tears streaming down her face, she cheers wildly and waves a rattle, while the band plays "Land of Hope and Glory ".

Part III

Scene 1: Tuesday 31 December 1929. The Marryot's drawing room

Margaret and Jane, both now elderly, are sitting by the fire. Margaret leaves, after wishing a happy New Year to Jane and Robert, who has come in to drink a New Year toast with his wife. Jane drinks first to him and then to England: "The hope that one day this country of ours, which we love so much, will find dignity and greatness, and peace again".

Scene 2: Evening, 1930. A night club

Robert, Jane, Margaret, Ellen, and the full company are in a night club. At the piano, Fanny sings "Twentieth Century Blues", and after the song everyone dances.

Scene 3: Chaos

The lights fade, and a chaotic succession of images representative of life in 1929 is spotlighted. When the noise and confusion reach a climax the stage suddenly fades into darkness and silence. At the back a

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

glows through the darkness. The scene ends with the lights coming up on the massed company singing "God Save the King".

Revivals and adaptations

The play was first revived in the West End in 1966, at the Scala Theatre, with a cast of 96 drama students from the

Rose Bruford College Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipl ...

. The reviewer in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' found Coward's work remained "dazzling and durable". The first professional revival was in 1981 at the Redgrave Theatre in

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tri ...

in a production directed by David Horlock and with a cast of 12 professional actors and 300 amateur performers. That production was filmed by the BBC and shown in 1982 as a two-part documentary, ''Cavalcade – A Backstage Story''. In 1995 a production starring

Gabrielle Drake Gabrielle Drake (born 30 March 1944) is a British actress. She appeared in the 1970s in television series '' The Brothers'' and ''UFO''. In the early 1970s she appeared in several erotic roles on screen. She later took parts in soap operas ''Cr ...

and

Jeremy Clyde Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde (born 22 March 1941) is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy (with Chad Stuart), who had little success in the UK, but were an object of interest to American ...

as Jane and Robert Maryott played at

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

, London and on tour. The

Citizens Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, presented the play in 1999, in a production by

Philip Prowse Philip Prowse (born 29 December 1937) is a stage director and designer, and was one of the triumvirate of directors at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, from 1970 until 2004. Early life and education Prowse was born in England on 29 D ...

. A film adaptation in 1933 won three

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including "Best Picture".

C. A. Lejeune Caroline Alice Lejeune (27 March 1897 – 31 March 1973) was a British writer, best known for serving as the film critic for ''The Observer'' from 1928 to 1960. She was among the earliest newspaper film critics in Britain, and one of the first B ...

called it "the best British film that has ever been made", and expressed exasperation that British studios had not taken the play up instead of allowing it to go to Hollywood.Lejeune, C. A. "The Pictures", ''The Observer'', 19 February 1933 ''Cavalcade'' was adapted for BBC radio by

Val Gielgud Val Henry Gielgud (28 April 1900 – 30 November 1981) was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of televisi ...

and

Felix Felton Robert Forbes Felton (12 August 1911 – 21 October 1972), known professionally as Felix Felton, was a British film, television, stage and voice actor as well as a radio director, composer and author. Radio work In his earlier years Felton cons ...

and broadcast three times in 1936. A 1970s television series, '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', was to some extent based on the play.

Reception

Opening just before the

British General Election This is a list of United Kingdom general elections (elections for the UK House of Commons) since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, ...

, the play's strongly patriotic themes were credited by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

for helping them secure a large percentage of the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

votes, despite the fact Coward had conceived the project a full year before the election was held, and strenuously denied having any thought of influencing its outcome.Coward, p. 241

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

and Queen Mary attended the performance on election night and received Coward in the Royal Box during the second interval. In ''

The Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper and online newspaper, news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman ...

'' for 1 November 1931, Alan Parsons wrote: Reviewing the 1999 revival, Michael Billington wrote that it displayed the contradictory elements in Coward's writings, a show "traditionally seen as a patriotic pageant about the first 30 years of the century" but strongly anti-militaristic and portraying "the anger that bubbles away among the working class". He concluded, "''Cavalcade'' is actually about the way the high hopes at the start of the century have turned to senseless slaughter and hectic hedonism".Billington, Michael
"Oh what a ghastly war"
''The Guardian'', 30 November 1999

Music

A record with the title ''Cavalcade Suite'' was made by the New Mayfair Orchestra. It contained a selection of the contemporary songs used in ''Cavalcade'', introduced by Coward. At the end he speaks the toast to England from the play. (HMV C2289) Coward himself recorded "Lover of My Dreams" (the Mirabelle Waltz Song), with, on the reverse, "Twentieth Century Blues", played by the New Mayfair Novelty Orchestra, with vocal by an unnamed singer identified by Mander and Mitchenson as

Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African– British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs. His most popular songs includ ...

. (HMV B4001) ''Cavalcade—Vocal Medley'': On this Coward sings "Soldiers of the Queen", "Goodbye, Dolly", "Lover of My Dreams", "I do Like to be Beside the Seside", "Goodbye, My Bluebell", "Alexander's Ragtime Band", "Everybody's Doing It", "

Let's All Go Down the Strand "Let's All Go Down the Strand" is a popular British music hall song of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, written by Harry Castling and C. W. Murphy. It was first performed by Castling, and was published in 1909. It was inspired by the ...

", "If You were the Only Girl", "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty", "There's a Long, Long Trail", "Keep the Home Fires Burning", and "Twentieth Century Blues". (HMV C2431). Coward later recorded "Twentieth Century Blues" on the LP album "Noël Coward in New York", with an orchestra conducted by Peter Matz. (Columbia ML 5163)

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1931 plays West End plays Plays by Noël Coward British plays adapted into films