A concert party, also called a Pierrot troupe, is the collective name for a group of entertainers, or Pierrots, popular in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

during the first half of the 20th century. The

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

given by a Pierrot troupe was called a Pierrot show. Concert parties were travelling shows of songs and comedy, often put on at the seaside and opening with a Pierrot number.

History

In 1891, the singer and banjoist

Clifford Essex Clifford Essex (1869 – 2 February 1946) was an English banjoist, teacher, and instrument manufacturer during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Biography Essex formed a partnership with Alfred D. Cammeyer in 1883 and sold banjos under the br ...

, inspired by Michel Carré fils' pantomime ''L'enfant prodigue'' (1890), which he had seen at the Prince of Wales' Theatre (of the latter known as the

Scala Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was kn ...

) in London, resolved to create a troupe of English Pierrot entertainers. Thus began the tradition of seaside Pierrots in

pointed hat Pointed hats have been a distinctive item of headgear of a wide range of cultures throughout history. Although often suggesting an ancient Indo-European tradition, they were also traditionally worn by women of Lapland, the Japanese, the Mi'kmaq ...

s and black or coloured costumes who sang, danced, juggled, and joked on the piers of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

from the 1890s until the 1950s.See Pertwee. The style of performance attracted artists from

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

and variety theatre. Some performers, such as Neville Kennard, were known as specialists in the field. Immensely popular in Great Britain from the 1920s to the 1940s, concert parties were also formed by several countries'

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

during the First and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

s. During the Second World War, the British Armed Forces' concert party became known as the

Entertainments National Service Association The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

(ENSA), later succeeded by the

Combined Services Entertainment BFBS Live Events (formerly Combined Services Entertainment (CSE) until 2 March 2020) is the live entertainment arm of the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) (and prior to March 2020 the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), a regis ...

(CSE). As other forms of entertainment (particularly

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

) replaced variety shows in general, concert parties largely died out during the 1950s. This form of entertainment has been described by

Roy Hudd Roy Hudd, OBE (16 May 1936 – 15 March 2020) was an English comedian, actor, presenter, radio host, author and authority on the history of music hall entertainment. Early life Hudd was born in Croydon on 16 May 1936 to Evalina "Evie" (née ...

as long-gone and much lamented.Roy Hudd, Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's cavalcade of variety acts: a who was who of light entertainment, 1945-60'', 1997, p94 The most famous fictitious concert party outside the armed forces was ''

The Good Companions ''The Good Companions'' is a novel by the English author J. B. Priestley. Written in 1929, it follows the fortunes of a concert party on a tour of England. It is Priestley's most famous novel and established him as a national figure. It won ...

'' in

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

's eponymous novel. In the novel '' Sylvia Scarlett'', the main characters (

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

in the film version) form a concert party, The Pink Pierrots. A Pierrot troupe features strongly in

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

's 1952 children's book, ''The Rubadub Mystery''.

References

Bibliography

* Pertwee, Bill. ''Pertwee’s Promenades and Pierrots: One Hundred Years of Seaside Entertainment''. Newton Abbot (Eng.): Westbridge Books, 1979. * Columbia University, Press."J.B.Priestley". "''Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', 6th Edition(2013): 1. ''History Reference Center''. web. 15 Apr. 2013. * RIM, plc." Roy Hudd". ''Hutchinson's Biography Database''(2011): 1. ''History Reference Center''. web. 15 Apr. 2013.

External links

Historical archives at UK's ''Archives Hub''

Golden summers of concert party years
{Dead link, date=July 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Pierrot troupes
on postcards Music hall Entertainment organizations