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Revue.
More a revue than a revusical, the 1924 Sydney production was advertised with the following blurb: 'Think of all the joyous nights you have had and think of them all combined into one wild, hectic evening and you will conceive an idea of the gaiety and gladness of Mr Gerald's snappiest and best revue' (Sydney Morning Herald 26 April 1924, p.2). Three years later, the Brisbane Courier theatre critic wrote, 'A delightful pot pourri of good, wholesome comedy, clever dancing and tuneful musical numbers, both classical and otherwise, all skilfully blended. For over an hour comedy, song and dance raced side by side for supremacy, and during all the time the audience, which filled every nook and corner of the theatre, banished all dull cares and thoughts and business worries'. In reporting on Gerald's performance, the same critic writes, 'Whether as a bogus count attempting to win the affections of the countess, who subsequently proved to be an inmate in a lunatic asylum, or as an assistant in a pawnbroker's shop, who allowed his sympathies to get the better of his judgement, he was equally irresistible. Under his skilful artistry even the slightest incident, such as falling on the stage, or losing a hat, became an occasion for laughter. The fun was fast and furious, and even his supporters on the stage at times were compelled to join in the chorus of laughter, when 'Jim' deviated from the set part' (4 April 1927, p.9).
When Nights of Joy was revived towards the end of Gerald's six-month engagement at the Empire Theatre in 1927, the Brisbane Courier's theatre critic provided additional insights into the show:
With charming inconsequences the audience was whisked from one dazzling scene to another, an Argentine scene in which two swarthy rivals fight a duel with whips for the love of the graceful and beautiful (sic) Marcheta (Jim Gerald) was followed by an Eastern harem scene where May Geary charms the Sheik (Reg Hawthorne) with her "Kismet" song and Polly McLaren fills the role of a sinuous graceful slave dancer. With another whisk the audience was transported to a bamboo-fringed lake crowned with reeds and water lilies where a flock of graceful swans (the Twinklers ballet) are disturbed by the crack of a hunter's rifle. One of the number (Polly McLaren) receives her death-wound and dances the dance of the Dying Swan with realistic charm and grace, the general effect of the scena being a superbly beautiful one. Hey Presto! Another whisk and the audience was peering into a pawnshop where Jim Gerald, Ernest Crawford, Howard Hall, Reg Hawthorne, Betty Lambert and Harry Burgess staged a farce which would have caused the gloomiest of mortals to weep tears of pure joy... This success was repeated in the numerous other sketches which interspersed the programme (18 July 1927, p.3).
'The Dying Swan' scene appears to have been a regular feature of this revusical; it is also referenced in a review of the 1926 Bijou Theatre season.
Production Details
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1924: Fullers' New Theatre, Sydney, 26 April - 2 May.
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Stage Manager Lance Vane; Chorus Polly McLaren.
- Troupe Jim Gerald's Miniature Musical Comedy Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Ernest Crawford, Polly McLaren, Lance Vane, Howard Hall, Letty Craydon, Mona Thomas, and the Six Twinklers.
1926: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 13-19 March (return season: 26 June - 2 July).
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Stage Manager Lance Vane; Chorus Polly McLaren.
- Troupe Jim Gerald's Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Polly McLaren, Lance Vane, Mona Thomas, Ernest Crawford, Howard Hall, Myra Rowe, Betty Lambert, May Geary, Neva Carr-Glynn, and the Six Twinklers.
- The debut production was billed as Joyous Nights, while the return season was staged under the tile Nights of Joy.
1926: New Bijou Theatre, Melbourne, 28 August - 3 September.
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Stage Manager Lance Vane; Chorus Polly McLaren.
- Troupe Jim Gerald Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Lance Vane, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Polly McLaren, May Geary, Howard Hall, Ernest Crawford, Mona Thomas, Betty Lambert, Myra Rowe, and the Six Twinklers.
- Iris McKenzie's name is mentioned in several reviews during the Bijou Theatre season. It is unclear at this stage if she had become a member of the cast or was still one of the Six Twinklers.
1927: Empire Theatre, Brisbane, 2-8 April (return season: 16-22 July).
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Fullers' Theatres Ltd; Stage Manager Lance Vane; Chorus Polly McLaren.
- Troupe Jim Gerald's Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Harry Burgess, Polly McLaren, Lance Vane, Ernest Crawford, Howard Hall, May Geary, Betty Lambert, Dalton Payne, Harry Payne, Jack Manners, Flora McDonald, Ray and Dot McLean, and the Six Twinklers.
- The debut production was billed as (K)nights of Joy.
- The return season (presented as Nights of Joy) was staged over the entire programme, having been 'amended to include new original comedy interludes and some of the latest song successes' (Brisbane Courier 16 July 1927, p.14).
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1927: Fullers' Theatre, Sydney, 19-25 November.
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Fullers' Theatre Ltd; Stage Manager Lance Vane.
- Troupe Jim Gerald's Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Harry Burgess, Howard Hall, Lance Vane, Phyllis du Barry, Ray McLean, Mona Thomas, Cecil Scott, May Geary, Dot Creswell, Les Pearce, Neva Glynn-Carr, Betty Lambert; and the Six Twinklers.
1930: Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne, 14-20 June.
- Director Jim Gerald; Producer Tivoli Celebrity Vaudeville.
- Troupe Jim Gerald Musical Revue Company.
- Cast incl. Jim Gerald, Essie Jennings, Reg Hawthorne, Howard Hall, Jim Foran, Sadie Gale, Tom Dale, Joe Hudson, Ray McLean, Joan Graham, Lily Coburn, Marie Ward, Thelma Duff, Edna Ralston, and the Six Twinklers.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Fun at the Empire
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 18 July 1927; (p. 3)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre -
Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 16 July 1927; (p. 14)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre Brief preview of the expanded (musical comedy) version, staged at the Empire Theatre, Brisbane, beginning 16 July 1927. -
Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 4 April 1927; (p. 9)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre -
Fullers'
1926
single work
review
— Appears in: Theatre Society and Home , April 1926; (p. 13, 41)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre
-
Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 4 April 1927; (p. 9)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre -
Empire Theatre
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 16 July 1927; (p. 14)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre Brief preview of the expanded (musical comedy) version, staged at the Empire Theatre, Brisbane, beginning 16 July 1927. -
Fun at the Empire
1927
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 18 July 1927; (p. 3)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre -
Fullers'
1926
single work
review
— Appears in: Theatre Society and Home , April 1926; (p. 13, 41)
— Review of Nights of Joy 1924 single work musical theatre
PeriodicalNewspaper Details
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cArgentina,cSouth America, Americas,
- Middle East, Asia,
