''A Little Bit of Fluff'' is a British

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

written by Walter W. Ellis which was first staged in 1915 and went on to have a long original run. Starring

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Early life Ernes ...

, it ran at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

, London, between 1915–1918, for a total of 1241 performances.

Original production

The play opened at the Criterion Theatre on October 27, 1915, with the following cast: *

as Bertrand Tully *George Desmond as John Ayers *Marjorie Maxwell as Pamela * Ruby Miller as Maimie *Stanley Lathbury as Trippett *

Alfred Drayton Alfred Drayton (1 November 1881 – 26 April 1949) was a British stage and film actor. Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was '' ...

as Dr. Bigland *Violet Gould as Ursula *Lilian Talbot as Aunt Hannah *Dulcie Greatwich as Chalmers

Critical reception

Writing of the original production, ''

The Annual Register ''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...

'' described the play as "a really first-rate farce", and the performance of Ernest Thesiger (playing the comic hero), as "wonderful".

Other productions

The play, with Stanley Lathbury from the London cast, opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in August 1916 at the 39th Street Theatre, but closed after only 17 performances. It was revived in London at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1923, with Thesiger reprising his role as Tully; and at the Ambassadors once more, in 1943.

Adaptations

The play was twice turned into films during the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. A 1919 film '' A Little Bit of Fluff'', again with Thesiger, Stanley Lathbury and Alfred Drayton, directed by

Kenelm Foss Kenelm Foss (13 December 1885 – 28 November 1963) was a British actor, theatre director, author, screenwriter and film director. Early life and education He was born in Croydon, Surrey and studied art at the Wellesley School of Art and in Pa ...

; and the 1928 film '' A Little Bit of Fluff'' which featured

Betty Balfour Betty Balfour (born Florence Lilian Woods; 27 March 1902 – 4 November 1977) was an English screen actress, popular during the silent era, and known as the "British Mary Pickford" and "Britain's Queen of Happiness". She was best known to aud ...

, the most popular British actress of the day, and

Sydney Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager. Through their mother Hannah, they were ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

's elder half-brother.

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''History of the British Film, 1918-1929''. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.

External links

* * 1915 plays British plays adapted into films Plays set in England Broadway plays West End plays {{1910s-play-stub