Web Page No 2548

19th January 2019

1st Picture. Leo Franklin, Larry Noble and Brian Rix

2nd Picture. Poster for Simple Spymen

3rd Picture. Lord and Lady Rix (Elspeth Grey)

4th Picture. Scene from Reluctant Heroes

Whitehall Farces

When we were teenagers no Bank Holiday on TV passed by without a Whitehall Farce being broadcast, very often live. These days the term Whitehall farce suggests headlines of bungling bureaucracy or some government blunder. It's largely forgotten that the term then referred  to the theatre at the far end of that famous thoroughfare. From 1950, the Whitehall Theatre housed five long-running comic plays and in so doing made its name synonymous with this form of comedy.

A farce usually starts with the slightest of problems: there's a small lie and a need to keep up appearances. This then triggers an uproarious series of mishaps, misunderstandings and mistaken identities. And the original problem then escalates until it's an intractable, trouser-dropping frenzy. There is often no real exit despite the number of doors that swing open and shut as characters burst on and off the stage.

Farces were a particularly integral part of London's theatre scene between the wars. During that period, the Aldwych Theatre leant its name to a series of Ben Travers' plays including Thark, A Cuckoo In The Nest and Rookery Nook. Playing for over 10-and-a-half years these Aldwych Farces set a new standard and the company’s ambitions became a model for others to emulate.

Fast forward a few years and the Whitehall Theatre was struggling to find a programme that could capture the public’s attention. It had been home to Phyllis Dixey, London's first ever theatre stripper but Phyllis and her Whitehall Follies left in 1947. The cancellation of a failed play a little while later then created an opening for young actor Brian Rix to step in, leasing the venue for his new production company. Seeking a lively play that captured a ready audience, Brian Rix found Reluctant Heroes. It was a new farce by Colin Morris about an army drill sergeant struggling to control his troops. It proved a canny choice and, like Dad's Army on TV later on, the play’s sense of shared wartime experience suggested it could speak to millions. The play ran at the Whitehall for more than 1,600 performances until 1954.

Brian Rix then had a brainwave and welcomed TV cameras into Whitehall. It was seen as a risky strategy and against the wisdom of the time, but far from driving audiences away from the theatre, the broadcast gave Reluctant Heroes a major box office boost some three years into its run. Over the next 17 years, the BBC's Brian Rix Presents… broadcast 80 specials and one-off productions. Often shown on public holidays, the laughter from the Whitehall Theatre began to spread into the nation's living rooms.

Despite their popularity, Whitehall's farces had to shrug-off regular drubbings from the critics. Take the second of the theatre’s long running hits — John Chapman's Dry Rot (1954-58). This story of dodgy bookies switching racehorses was dismissed as "fit for donkeys" at the time. And it’s a view still echoed today. After a rare revival two years ago in Keswick, The Guardian wrote: "If this play were a horse they'd shoot it."

But the public did not share the critics' ideas and turned up by the coach-load. During the run of the third Whitehall Farce, Simple Spymen (1958-61) the team broke the record for being the longest-running farcers in the West End, beating the actors at the Aldwych. On the night in 1961 when they broke the record, Brian Rix offered a glass of champagne to everyone in the audience.

In the latter five years of Whitehall’s heyday the writer Ray Cooney appeared. A prolific farce writer, he is known in France as the English Feydeau (whose farces are considered the prototype for the modern form). It's a peculiar twist of fate that critics quick to celebrate his French counterpart, overlook Ray Cooney. ‘One For The Pot’ is about an inheritance attracting many "sole-surviving relatives" and ran from 1961-64, while the final Whitehall Farce, Chase Me, Comrade offers a riot of comedy as a Russian ballet dancer defects to Britain. This ran until 1966, bringing the Rix team's time at the theatre to an impressive total of 16 years.

Following that, he was unable to secure the lease at the Whitehall and was forced to move his productions to the Garrick and Cambridge Theatres. He had some success with other farce writers and later joined Ray Cooney's production company. His theatre company stayed with him for many years Leo Franklin (the father of William Franklin the Shhhh! Schweppes man) was a regular as was the diminutive Larry Noble. A long time supporter and member of the team was Brian Rix’s wife Elspeth Gray.

Brian Rix is also known as Baron Rix of Whitehall (where else?) and sat in the House of Lords. And his achievements as president of Mencap eclipse even those he made with the Whitehall farces. But that is another story.

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On this day 19^th January 1960-1965.

On 19/01/1960 the number one single was Why - Anthony Newley and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was not listed and the box office smash was North by Northwest. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was US screenwriters plan pay strike.

On 19/01/1961 the number one single was Poetry in Motion - Johnny Tillotson and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions

On 19/01/1962 the number one single was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was The Young Ones - Cliff Richard. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 19/01/1963 the number one single was The Next Time/Bachelor Boy - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top-rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 19/01/1964 the number one single was Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Steptoe & Son (BBC) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 19/01/1965 the number one single was Yeh Yeh - Georgie Fame and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.