Scene from the sketch Going into Space

Scene from the sketch Going into Space
The Punch Revue
1955
London
Black and white photograph
Museum no. TM 897-23
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Punch was founded in 1841, and for 150 years continued its tradition of humorous political and social comment and cartoons. In 1955 came The Punch Revue in which almost all the material was adapted from, or contributed by, writers and cartoonists for the magazine. Not all critics were impressed by the show, but they were universal in their approval of the return to the London stage of Binnie Hale (pictured here in the 'rocket chair'), who had been a huge star in the 1930s. Particularly admired was her rendition of 'O tell me the truth about love', with lyrics by the poet W.H.Auden and music by Benjamin Britten, as well as her extremely accurate imitations of stars such as Marlene Dietrich and Joyce Grenfell. Binnie's father, Robert Hale had also been a comic actor and her brother Sonnie was married to Jessie Matthews. The setting for the sketch Going the Space was designed by Rowland Emett, a cartoonist and designer of eccentric mechanical displays, whose drawings often appeared in Punch.

Scene from the sketch Song of the Jellicles

Scene from the sketch Song of the Jellicles in The Punch Revue
1955
London
Museum no. TM 897-41
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Punch was founded in 1841 and for 150 years continued its tradition of humorous political and social comment and cartoons. In the 1955 The Punch Revue almost all the material was adapted from, or contributed by, writers and cartoonists for the magazine. As its then editor Malcolm Muggeridge explained, they tried to 'reproduce the present temper for this curious, apparently indestructible publication'. The revue included two poems by the American poet T.S.Eliot, taken from his popular Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. They were spoken by Paul Daneman, accompanied by dances set to music by Alan Rawsthorne. The two dancers pictured are Malcolm Goddard (who later went on to become a respected choreographer) and 21 year old Wendy McClure, whose first big break this was. Nowadays of course, 'The Song of the Jellicles' and 'The Old Gumbie Cat' are more familiar to most people in their settings by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who used the Old Possum poems to create his phenomenally successful musical Cats.

The Ascot sketch by The Crazy Gang

The Ascot sketch by The Crazy Gang
Photography by Houston Rogers
1959
London
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This photograph shows The Crazy Gang in their 1959 show Clown Jewels. It is a skit on the famous black and white Ascot scene designed by Cecil Beaton for the musical My Fair Lady which was the current box office hit in London. By this date, the comedians who made up the gang – the three double acts Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo and Teddy Knox and Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold, sometimes joined by “Monsewer” Eddie Gray - had been together for 27 years and were all aged between 60 and 72. They had been threatening to retire for years, but kept being persuaded to do one more show. Their shows were made up of sketches in which the gang appeared as different characters. Many of the reviews agreed that the Gang's jokes were old, corny and frequently terrible, and yet irresistibly funny, because of the charm of the performers. They were favourites of the Royal Family, and the Queen and Prince Philip made a surprise visit to the show.

A routine from the revue The Talk of the Town

A routine the revue The Talk of the Town
Photography by Houston Rogers
1962
London Hippodrome
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A South American routine from The Talk of the Town

A South American routine from a floorshow at The Talk of the Town
1962
London Hippodrome
Museum no. C.210-C
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Larger than Life sketch in The Punch Revue

Larger than Life sketch in The Punch Revue
1955
London
Black and white photograph
Museum no. TM 897-35
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Punch was founded in 1841, and for 150 years continued its tradition of humorous political and social comment and cartoons. In the 1955 The Punch Revue almost all the material was adapted from, or contributed by, writers and cartoonists for the magazine. In this still from the sketch Large than Life, Sheila Kennedy, June Laverick and, on the left, Joyce Blair (sister of popular entertainer Lionel Blair) lie dreaming of the men whose caricatures adorn their bedheads.They were all huge stars of the day: (from left to right) film actor Marlon Brando, pop singer Johnnie Ray, and the charismatic preacher Billy Graham. The caricatures were the work of cartoonist and regular Punch contributor R.S.Sherriffs.

Fan dancing at the Windmill Theatre, London

Fan dancing at the Windmill Theatre, London
Mid 20th century
Black and white photograph
Museum no. TM/K.B.B/12
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Windmill was famous as the only theatre in London where nudity was permitted. Even there it was only allowed if the girls didn't move. This gave rise to the saying, 'If it moves, it's rude'. The only nudes who did move were the fan dancers, and the skill of their dance was to keep themselves covered by manipulation of the huge ostrich feather fans as they danced. It was all very restrained by today's standards and fathers would often take their teenage sons to the shows as an introduction to sex. Not all the girls were showgirls or nudes. Between the nude scenes there were small ballets, sketches and stand-up comedians. Few comics lasted more than a few weeks as audiences were only interested in the girls. Between the shows, there was an unseemly scramble over the seats as audiences in the back rows tried to get the coveted front seats as quickly as possible.