OVERVIEW
Established in Brisbane in 1921 by Agnes Rahilly-Brown, the Sunshine Kiddies performed regularly at social events, jazz nights and concerts, presenting a combination of variety acts, dramas, musical comedies and revues. In the mid-1920s the Kiddies also appeared pantomimes - mostly staged at the Majestic Theatre as a supplement to the Union Pictures film screenings. Brown later took the children on regional and interstate tours. Well-known comedian Joe Lawman was a member of the Kiddies between 1923 and 1928. Rahilly-Brown's name has been linked to the troupe as late as 1941.
DETAILED BIOGRAPHY
1921-1924: The first public appearances by the Rahilly-Browns students as The Sunshine Kiddies, were a series of open-air concerts and jazz dance nights presented in the Brisbane suburb of Dutton Park during November 1921. The troupe also featured in the entertainment for their school's annual break-up concert at the Elite Theatre on 3 December. As in previous years the entertainment was varied, comprising variety/revue-style performances and sketches, along with a more substantial piece - this being the playlet Aunt Martha's Son. The Brisbane Courier notes that the ages of the children in the Sunshine Kiddies troupe at that time ranged from four to nine (26 November1921, p.6). Within a few years, however, the age range expanded to include those in their mid to late-teens.
A successful three nights season at the Elite Theatre in March, following on from more Dutton Park concerts in February saw the children begin to make 'more regular appearances in Brisbane' (Brisbane Courier 5 April 1922, 7). Rahilly-Brown also took the Sunshine Kiddies on its first tour out of Brisbane, playing several townships around Toowoomba. Over the course of the year the children played at a number of different venues and events around Brisbane, leading up to the school's annual break-up concert at the end of the year (9 December). For that event the Kiddies presented the Christmas play The Fairy Dream, along with a variety of individual and concerted items.
The following year Rahilly-Brown's greatest student success, comedian Joe Lawman, made his debut performance with the company as a clog dancer in the revue Back on the Farm. Staged at the Elite Theatre on 1 August, the show was given in aid of the Children's Hospital. He was also possibly a member of the company which placed fourth in the "Twenty Minutes of Entertainment" section in the A.N.A. Eisteddfod (19 October).
Published accounts of the Sunshine Kiddies in 1924 include their appearance at the Exhibition Grounds as part of the Centenary celebrations. On August 9 they put on a between-films entertainment at the Tivoli Theatre, New Farm and the following month returned to the Elite Theatre where they presented the musical revue Shriek and a minstrel pierrot entertainment (10 September). November saw the company stage the 'picturesque and screamingly funny Spanish play' The Bullfighter at the Elite (3 November). As usual the final production for the year was the annual break-up concert at the Elite Theatre (15 December).
1925-1928: During the three years 1925 to 1927 the Sunshine Kiddies were engaged by Union Pictures to present regular mini-productions at its Brisbane cinema, the Majestic. These shows, most of which were written and directed by Agnes Rahilly-Brown, included the pantomimes Sinbad the Sailor, Babes in the Wood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Old Mother Hubbard, Sleeping Beauty, Simple Simon Little Red Riding Hood, Babes in the Woods (1925); Beauty and the Beast, The House That Jack Built (1926); Robinson Crusoe and The London Waif (1927). Most of the earlier productions were also revived in later years.
Among the other productions staged were Rahilly-Brown's The Red Lantern; Or The Hobgoblin of Goblin Island (1925) and her "original Australian revusical pantomime" The Blue Goanna (1926). From around 1926, too, Joe Lawman began to emerge as the company's brightest star. His comedic abilities saw him take over the Dame roles in the pantomimes, and in turn the Brisbane press regularly acknowledged his unique talent as a comedian. Lawman's name also began to increasingly feature in advertising.
Another significant move by Rahilly-Brown during the mid-1920s was to take the Sunshine Kiddies on longer regional tours, particularly through North Queensland (and to a lesser extent Northern New South Wales). These tours, which generally took place around the school holiday periods in 1926 and 1927, included such centres as Cairns and Charters Towers (Queensland) and Lismore, Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah (New South Wales). The nine-week 1925 tour reportedly comprised only 14 children, including Joe Lawman. The Morning Bulletin previewed the season in Rockhampton by citing the following comments published in the Townsville Daily Bulletin:
It was a brilliant entertainment, bright and snappy, and no one but could admire the versatility of these clever youngsters, who won their way right into the hearts of their audience. The entertainment was described as a "potted pantomime;" [and] true there was the pantomime spirit about it - the story told of Sinbad the sailor - but still it was something different, and the crowd enjoyed it thoroughly (30 November 1925, p.5).
Rahilly Brown also took the company on tour through New South Wales between March and late May 1926. The itinerary included an eight weeks season at the Haymarket Theatre, Sydney.
By 1926 the Sunshine Kiddies repertoire had also expanded to include revusicals and farces. Among the new productions were the musical comedies A Trip to Honolulu and The Lost Princess (1926); Hotel Balmy (aka The Crazy Hotel), Fun in a Florist's Shop, Miss Bone from New York and the revue Back Again (1927). Described as being 'brimful of comedy from start to finish,' Back Again was viewed by one critic as another vehicle for 'the wonderful boy comedian Joe Lawman to show his talent' (Brisbane Courier 4 September 1927, p.13). The shows were not always confined only to the children, however, with Rahilly-Brown also recorded as appearing on the stage on a number of occasions.
Between August 1927 and January 1928 the Sunshine Kiddies reportedly toured the southern states, playing seasons in each of the capitals (Brisbane Courier 9 January 1928, p.11). The troupe's popularity in North Queensland was such that they returned in late 1927, even bi-passing Brisbane. By this time they were presenting another new repertoire, with the pantomimes including The London Waif and Sleeping Beauty. The remainder of the programmes comprised a selection of comedy sketches and vaudeville turns.
Among the new productions staged in 1928 were The King and the Beggar Maid, a pantomime adaptation of Sweet Nell of Drury Lane; and a show with the intriguing title A Pantomime Without a Name. For the Northern NSW tour the company also presented, possibly for the first time, the 'potted pantomime' Tom Thumb. Among the engagements that year were seasons in North Queensland, Northern New South Wales, Brisbane (including Fortitude Valley and the southern suburbs) and various towns between the Sunshine and Gold coasts.
1929-1941: After Joe Lawman's departure in late 1928 the troupe was briefly renamed the Rays of Sunshine. As in previous years the company mounted an extensive regional tour in 1929, returning to the far North for several months. The years 1930 and 1931, by which time the troupe had reverted back to the Sunshine Kiddies, saw the troupe maintain a similar schedule of appearances in and around Brisbane, alternating with regional tours
Rahilly-Brown does not appear to have sent the company on any regional tours after 1931. The early to mid-1930s did, however, see the Sunshine Kiddies make regular feature appearances in Fortitude Valley at children's parties put on by the department store, McWhirters. Among the productions known to have been staged during the 1930s were the pantomimes Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, Little Boy Blue, The Red Goblin, The House That Jack Built; the revues Let's Get Married and Here We Go Again; and the revusicals Fun in a Beauty Parlour, Back Again in Pierrot Land and Spanish Revels. A review in the Cairns Post records that the 1931 shows included 'The Doll Shop,' the 'Scarf Ballet,' and Chinese novelty dances (27 August 1931, p.3), while in 1933 the company staged a new musical and patriotic sketch called 'John Bull and Aussie' (Brisbane Courier 26 October 1933, p.1). Although the last Sunshine Kiddies appearances located to date were in 1941, as part of a fund-raising benefits at Brisbane's All Saints Hall for the Incapacitated and Wounded Sailors and Soldiers Association (7 March and 25 July), the children likely played concerts after that.
As to how long Rahilly-Brown continued operating her school, and presenting her children on stage, is unknown. The extent of her impact on the overall variety industry is also unclear. While a number of her children went on to work as adult performers, only one, Joe Lawman, went on to become a recognised star. In this respect she must be credited with helping develop the career of one of Australia's top comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Arguably her most significant achievement was in continuing to operate and tour the Sunshine Kiddies for two decades under conditions that were far more difficult than experienced in the later 20th and early 21st centuries. She and her husband George Rahilly-Brown also played a major role in helping promote jazz music to the Brisbane public in the late 1910s and early 1920s.
Agnes Rahilly-Brown's achievements also include writing and producing upwards of two dozen children's pantomimes, revues and revusicals. The general consensus of most critics during the twenty years the company operated was that these productions were of a high professional standard and very popular with audiences throughout Queensland.
[Source: Australian Variety Theatre Archive]
