STAGE TRADITION BURLESQUED!

Evening Star, Issue 21621, 17 January 1934, Page 10

STAGE TRADITION BURLESQUED!

IN * SOLDIERS OF THE KING ' ‘‘The Show Must Go On! ’’ has ever been the watchword of the theatrical profession, and* the failure ofatrouper to appear for the act is' considered the one unpardonable crime. The theme has • been written at length in - many forms. Puccini immortalised it * with his opera, ‘ Pagliacci ’; it formed the basis of the late Lon Chaney’s great film, ‘He Who Gets Slapped'; it has been the mainstayVof dramas and romances for yearsi but it* was- left to Cicely Courtneidge and the GaumontBritish Picture .Corporation, to bur-* lesque;-it.', y...:-, 'I The, occasion, ,of: this, horrific* ;crimf| against the 'propriety;;of ;.the stagedwas the production of the Gainsborough picture; ‘ Soldiers of the King,’ as the story is based on-a troupe of theatrical artists and the climax cOmes when one fails to appear for a special gala matinee. " ’ The troupe all sake the surname Of Marvello, and claim to be all of the one family, in direct line of descension from Nell Gwynne. Prom their number they • elect "a ' queen, who thereby becomes the business manager and autocratic ruler of the “ family.” , Dorothy Hyson," in the role of Judie Marvello, Hying adagio dancer, is the culprit who misses the performance, and it is Cicely Cb'urtneidgefas Maisie Marvello, queen of .the troupe, - who takes *her place. “ The sbow > must go oil—rno *matter 'howlsays .Cicely, and forthwith - she • takes her place with the lads * who ■ .gracefully throw lassies around* .for the; .entertainment of a highly . critical • audience. This is genuinely * dne of the funniest episodes the .'balking screen *has yet recorded, and; if. you want to laugh * away all thiiughtsdpf-leave,' gb toy-.the Grand Theatre-next Friday; :wheh ‘ Soldiers of the , King ’ will -be screening. * <