Pierrots Perfected: Louis Rihll and Artistic Developments in Concert Party Entertainment on the London and Provincial Stage, 1900–1930

In the Foreword to the late Clarkson Rose’s informative book Beside the Seaside, the theatre historian W. Macqueen-Pope described the concert party genre as the “Cinderella of the Theatrical Art” and “sadly neglected”, but asserted that “in no branch is more expert knowledge and wider talent required” (9). This book, published in 1960, followed the earlier well-known works of Ernest Short, and in particular of Christopher Pulling, that touch briefly on aspects of concert party history within the wider context of popular entertainment (Short and Compton-Rickett 242–49; Short 147–56; Pulling 143–65). The subject of concert party immediately evokes the spectacle of the Pierrot troupe entertaining young and old from a seaside pitch, or of the costume concert party performing at a Spa or Pier Pavilion, powerful images integral to the social and cultural history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The latter period experienced the rapid growth of an industry whose importance to the local economy was recognised as early as 1910 (Robins 26–28). This dynamic was encouraged in part by the Urban District Councils whose system of competitive tendering for a Pierrot pitch or beach space generated valuable seasonal revenue (see for example Stage, 2 Nov. 1911: 33). Concert and alfresco entertainments were also of social importance as an outlet for all classes as leisure time increased, and the transport network expanded to support coastal enterprises (Walton 27, 94; Nield 96–104). The music publishing industry also benefitted since the songs composed by artists were lucrative not only for themselves but also for their publishers (Pulling 236–42). No comprehensive history of the genre has been written however, and although several valuable publications for the general reader have been published in recent years,² academic interest is only now emerging as exemplified by David Calvert’s work on the British Pierrot tradition.

Among the estimated thousand or more concert parties that have existed in the British Isles since the 1890s,³ some achieving fame in a local or regional context (those of Edwin Adeler, Will Catlin and Andie Caine being of particular note), the two considered par excellence (by past authors at least) were Pélissier’s Follies and the Co-Optimists. It was through the improvisational and engaging genius of Harry Gabriel Pélissier (1874–1913) that the Pierrot entertainment form first became established in London and the West End in the early 1900s, thus laying the foundation of English so-called ‘intimate’ revue (Pulling 217–18, 220; Mander and Mitchenson Revue, 22; Moore iii, 18–20, 44–46). The Co-Optimists continued this vogue with spectacular success from 1921 for nearly a decade. The many accolades showered on the Follies and the Co-Optimists have however obscured the work of other artists who also contributed significantly to the changing entertainment landscape of this period. This essay gives due critical attention to these neglected aspects for the first time with particular reference to the concert party proprietor and actor-comedian Louis Rihll (1879–1931).⁴ This choice is justified on a number of grounds. First, Rihll’s Tatlers, formed in 1902, were not only one of the earliest concert parties of the twentieth century (Stage, 3 Jul. 1919: 20), but were also one of the first to appear in the West End. Second, although Rihll’s name is hardly remembered today, referenced only fleetingly in earlier accounts, in his time he was recognised as one of the first pioneers of concert party, and of the more sophisticated form of the genre (Stage, 15 May 1924: 20). He also served for many years on the Council of the Concert Party Proprietors’ Association, formed in November 1913 (Stage Year Book, 1914: 140–41), alongside other leading lights such as Philip Braham (1882–1934) and Douglas Furber (1885–1961). Central to this study is the theme of collaborative endeavour. Rihll had a business as well as an artistic persona. He was thus not only a proprietor, theatrical manager and agent, but also a gifted comic...