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''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), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...
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 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
; the sinking of the RMS ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
''; and
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. 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 listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
, 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'' in London in 1930, Coward discussed with the impresario C. B. Cochran 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'' he saw a photograph of a troopship leaving for the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
, which gave him the idea for the new play. He outlined his scenario to Cochran and asked him to secure the Coliseum, London's largest theatre. Cochran was unable to do so, but was able to book the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
, 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 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,
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. She was known for as a leading lady in films such as ''The Private Life of He ...
, Una O'Connor, Moya Nugent, Arthur Macrae, 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 –
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 ...
*Robert Marryot – Edward Sinclair *Ellen Bridges – Una O'Connor *Alfred Bridges – Fred Groves *Margaret Harris –
Irene Browne Irene Muriel Browne (23 February 1891 – 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 ...
*Edith Harris –
Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actor, 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 ...
*Edward Marryot – Arthur Macrae *Joe Marryot – John Mills *Fanny Bridges –
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. She was known for as a leading lady in films such as ''The Private Life of He ...
*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 *Henry Charteris (Lieutenant Edgar) – Eric Puneur *Rose Darling (Ada) – Maidie Andrews *Nicky Banks (Tom Jolly) – Billy Fry *Cook – Laura Smithson *Annie – Merle Tottenham *Mrs Snapper – Edie Martin *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 *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 theatre, 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, ...
. 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 was awarded the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
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 ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...
'' 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 has been declared. Robert and Joe are keen to join the army. Jane is horrified, and refuses to indulge in the jingoism 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. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
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. The reviewer in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' found Coward's work remained "dazzling and durable". The first professional revival was in 1981 at the Redgrave Theatre in
Farnham Farnham 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 tributary of the ...
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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and shown in 1982 as a two-part documentary, ''Cavalcade – A Backstage Story''. In 1995 a production starring Gabrielle Drake and Jeremy Clyde as Jane and Robert Maryott played at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London and on tour. The Citizens Theatre,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, presented the play in 1999, in a production by Philip Prowse. A film adaptation in 1933 won three
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, including "Best Picture". C. A. Lejeune 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 and Felix Felton 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, the play's strongly patriotic themes were credited by the Conservative Party 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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
and Queen Mary attended the performance on election night and received Coward in the Royal Box during the second interval. In '' The Daily Mail'' 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. (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", "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

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