A West end celebrity proselytises the bonds of empire: Seymour hicks and Bruce Bairnsfather's 'old bill' in 1920s Australia

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Title A West end celebrity proselytises the bonds of empire: Seymour hicks and Bruce Bairnsfather's 'old bill' in 1920s Australia
Creator Contributors
Abstract/Description In 1924 the prominent and influential British West End actor-writer-producer Seymour Hicks and his wife Ellaline Terriss toured in Australia in their hits The Man in Dress Clothes and Broadway Jones. More significantly, Hicks undertook the dual roles of actor and imperial advocate for class reconciliation in the context of Australia's post-war industrial unrest. As such, he is neither the first nor last British actor to combine theatrical popularity with cultural diplomacy. His most significant Australian production is the comedy-drama 'Old Bill, MP' (premiered London 1922), based on the graphic artist Bruce Bairnsfather's popular wartime figure of the stoic infantry-man. I compare 'Old Bill, MP' with the stage and screen hits featuring similar Australian military figures of working-class resilience and leadership: C.J. Dennis's Ginger Mick and Ken Hall's 1940 film of Steele Rudd's Dad Rudd, MP.
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Source Australasian Drama Studies, ADSA, VIC
Issue 74
Page 64-97
Date Issued April 2019
Language English
ISSN 0810-4123
Citation Veronica Kelly, A West end celebrity proselytises the bonds of empire: Seymour hicks and Bruce Bairnsfather's 'old bill' in 1920s Australia, Australasian Drama Studies, 74, April 2019, 64-97
Data Set AusStage
Resource Identifier 68800