Revusical.
Stiffy and Mo are a couple of stable lads at a racecourse in this 'sporty musical comedy revue'. The other characters include Dennis (an old trainer); Marion (his daughter); Paul Mannering (the owner); Jonsey (a punter); Olga Verough (in love with Paul); Lord Verbrought (her accomplice); Lizzie (the servant); and Graham, Harry, Bentham, and Ken (possibly punters). The 1921 Brisbane Courier review records:
[The play] was a burlesque on the sport of horse racing ... replete with crooks, disqualified jockeys and adventuresses. As the stable boys Messrs. Roy Rene and Nat Phillips gave a clever and laughable portrayal of the characteristics commonly attributed to "horsey" men. Miss Daisy Merritt as Polly, the "Queen of Ascot", was the object of the amorous advances of Mo, and the latter's proposal made a great hit with some of the audience, but other persons might have thought it approached the indelicate. The comedy was full of pretty frocked ballets, dances and songs' (p.4).
The Brisbane Courier's review of Nat Phillips' 1926 Whirligig version records:
The second half of the programme was taken up with an amusing sporting revue, The Jockeys, depicting dark doings at the racecourse. As usual Stiffy and 'Erb (in the role of stable boys) claimed a large share of attention, and their handling of their mounts, a collie dog and a goat was a scream. Smart and snappy musical numbers by members of the company, with the able co-operation of the Whirligig Ballet, were interspersed throughout the programme (13 December 1926, p.17).
The 'musical sprints' presented during the 1922 production were 'Derby Day' (punters, owners, and trainers), 'Mississippi' (Connelly and girls), 'Miss O'Shea' (Shaw, Rene, and Phillips), 'Miami Dreams' (Connors and Paul), 'Ahead of the Times' (O'Brien and girls), 'All by Myself' (Paul), 'Strut, Miss Lizzie' (Connors and girls), 'Timbuctoo' (Connelly), 'Jabowocky' (Davis and girls), and the finale, 'The Race for the Cup' (the jockeys). Queenie Paul's song, 'All by Myself', was included in the production by request.
1918: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 15-21 June.
1919: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 5-11 July.
1920: Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 27 March - 2 April (return season: 10 July - 21 August).
1921: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 2-8 July.
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1922: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 22-28 July.
1924: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 4-10 October.
1926: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 11-17 December.
1927: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 25 June - 1 July.
