Mum's the Word single work   musical theatre  
Adaptation of The Chaperone Jocelyn Brandon , Frederick Arthur , 1913 single work drama
Issue Details: First known date: 1915... 1915 Mum's the Word
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Mum's the Word is a musical adaptation The Chaperone, a comedy/farce that premiered in London in early 1914, running for a respectable eight months. The star of that production, Ethel Dane (wife of Cyril Keightley) was engaged by Beaumont Smith and Leslie Hoskins to lead their 'Glad Eye' company during its 1914-15 Australian tour. She went on to play the lead female parts in both the The Chaperone and Mum's the Word.

The Sydney Morning Herald theatre critic writes of this musical version: It is 'in a somewhat altered garb and a new title, which is scarcely an improvement upon the original…. Judging by the result on Saturday evening the innovation is likely to prove acceptable, for there was a good house and the audience was generous in its appreciation. There is no doubt as to the immense amount of fun which the complex happenings in Mum's the Word render inevitable, and the house rippled throughout with amusement at the frantic efforts of the giddy Christopher Pottinger, M.P., to escape the consequences of a brief intrigue with Rosamond Gaythorne, the fascinating actress who meets him by appointment at a cabaret in London known as The Royal' (6 September 1915, p.4).

Production Details

  • 1915: Theatre Royal, Sydney; 4-11 September.

    • Director Claude Vernon; Producer Beaumont Smith and Leslie Hoskins; Music Director Bert Rache.
    • Troupe: Smith and Hoskins' Glad Eye Company.
    • Cast: Tom Shelford (Hilary Chester), Ethel Dane (Rosamond Gaythorne), Frank Bradley (Christopher Pottinger, M.P.), Alice Hamilton (Louisa Pottinger), Sinna St Clair (Harriet Maxwell), Edward Landor (Admiral Maxwell), Dorothy Hastings (Doris Mayne), Henry J. Ford (Algernon Brockenhurst), Edmund Sherras (Col. Redwood), Darcy Sweeney (Paul Kominski), Thomas E. Tilton (head waiter), Gilbert Emery (butler), Charles Hardwicke (Doris Mayne's maid), Claude Vernon and Clarice Hardwick (dancers).
    • Harry Sweeney is referred to as Darcy Sweeney in the Sydney Morning Herald review (6 September 1915, p.4). 'Harry' is the name billed for both The Chaperone and Stop Your Nonsense, however.

    .

  • This entry has been sourced from on-going historical research into Australian-written music theatre being conducted by Dr Clay Djubal.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

'Mum's the Word' Clay Djubal , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Variety Theatre Archive : Popular Culture Entertainment: 1850-1930
'Mum's the Word' 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 September no. 24231 1915; (p. 4)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' : Musical Version of a Farce 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Referee , 8 September 1915; (p. 15)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' : Musical Farce at the Royal 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Times , 5 September 1915; (p. 6)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' : Musical Farce at the Royal 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Times , 5 September 1915; (p. 6)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' : Musical Version of a Farce 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Referee , 8 September 1915; (p. 15)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' 1915 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6 September no. 24231 1915; (p. 4)

— Review of Mum's the Word 1915 single work musical theatre
'Mum's the Word' Clay Djubal , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Variety Theatre Archive : Popular Culture Entertainment: 1850-1930
Last amended 14 Feb 2014 08:26:11
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