Set shortly after the end of the First World war, the storyline concerns two soldier mates, Chic and Joe, who end up in a military hospital following a drunken brawl. The Medical Officer (M.O.) suspects them of malingering, however.
The Argus theatre critic writes in 1925:
'It is nearly seven years since the last shot was fired in the war, but the same spirit pervades the company as formerly. To vary the lines of Henry Lawson, [the Famous Diggers] are at their best in the jokes with which "the diggers greeted diggers long ago." Their best effort was their last - Chic and Joe in Hospital. It is a Blighty scene, in which the spirit of the Aussie soldier permeates the whole atmosphere. The richest of the humour in the sketch was provided by Mr Joe Valli as the good-natured Australian being plucked by another soldier with a less clear perception of the comradeship which should obtain among brothers at arms. Mr G. P. Hanna, Mr Clyde Fields, Mr Stan Lawson and Mr Bert Gilbert, however, contributed something to the laughter with which the sketch was received' (7 September 1925, p.14).
The Medical Officer (played in 1925 by Stan Lawson) is described in a Bulletin review as 'the sort of M. O. that Diggers liked to joke about' (10 September 1925, p.35).
The sketch was re-written for the 1926 New Zealand tour. In this version, Chic and Joe try to get a pass back to that country.
Diggers
F. W. Thring
,
( dir. F. W. Thring
)
Melbourne
:
Efftee Film Productions
,
1931
Z1396612
1931
single work
film/TV
humour
Diggers primarily concerns the adventures of two Australian 'cobbers,' Chic Williams and Joe Mulga, who are serving in the A.I.F. in France during 1918. Much of the narrative is based on three of the Famous Diggers' more popular live sketches: namely, an incident involving the stealing of some rum (Rum Doings), the hospital scene where Chic and Joe feign illness (Chic and Joe in Hospital), and a scene set in a French estaminet (Mademoiselle from Armentieres). An unidentified Brisbane review held in the Pat Hanna Collection (Performing Arts Centre, Melbourne) records, for example, that 'Diggers made its Brisbane premiere at the Regent Theatre on Saturday. Many of the incidents have been played by Pat on the Brisbane stage, but they are worth repetition... There was a laugh when Pat feigns deafness in hospital so that he will not be sent to the front lines. He even remains motionless when a revolver is fired next to his ear, but when a champagne cork pops from the bottle it is too much and he reveals the sham' (n. pag.).
In the first sketch, Chic and Joe, who are typically anti-authoritarian, convince a fellow digger, Bluey, to help them steal some rum from the Quartermaster's store. The second sketch is played out in hospital, where Chic, Joe, and Fatty feign battle fatigue and illness in order to avoid being set back up the line. They are questioned by a medical officer who finds all but Chic to be malingerers. Although he successfully convinces the MO that he is the only genuine case (even when a pistol is fired behind his head), Chic later gives himself away by reacting to the pop of a champagne cork. The final sketch is based on the Famous Diggers' theatrical rendition of the song 'Mademoiselle from Armentieres.' Combining a mixture of romance and pathos, the narrative concerns a young French girl and her Australian lover shortly before he returns to the front. She later learns that he has been killed.
The production details below are incomplete due to the inconstency of newspaper reviews and advertising over the period. Chic and Joe in Hospital was, however, one of the more popular sketches presented by Pat Hanna's Famous Diggers, and would have very likely been staged at least once during each extended engagement in any city from 1922 onwards.
Chic and Joe in Hospital is one of several sketches played out between Chic and Joe (previously Chic and Bert) that form an on-going series based on the experiences of Australian and New Zealand soldiers both during the First World War and as they try to return to 'normal' civilian life after the Armistice.
Although the names of the principal characters (as staged prior to ca. 1923) have not yet been established with certainty, it is likely that they were either named Chic and Bert or were being developed as such.
1921: New Zealand tour, ca. June - October.
1922: Esplanade, St Kilda (Melbourne), ca. March.
1924: Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane, 2-8 October.
1925: Queensland regional tour, April-May.
1925: Athenaeum, Melbourne, 5-11 September.
1926: New Zealand tour, 1 January - ca. April.
1926: Theatre Royal, Brisbane, 3-9 June.
1927: Gardens Theatre, Adelaide, ca. December.
