A Little Bit of Fluff (play)

Poster advertising the Criterion Theatre's suitability as an air raid shelter during WW I.

A Little Bit of Fluff is a British farce written by Walter W. Ellis which was first staged in 1915 and went on to have a long original run.[1] Starring Ernest Thesiger, it ran at the Criterion Theatre, London, between 1915-1918, for a total of 1241 performances.[2]

Original production

The play opened at the Criterion Theatre on October 27th 1915, with the following cast: [3]

  • Ernest Thesiger as Bertrand Tully
  • George Desmond as John Ayers
  • Marjorie Maxwell as Pamela
  • Ruby Miller as Maimie
  • Stanley Lathbury as Trippett
  • Alfred Drayton as Dr. Bigland
  • Violet Gould as Ursula
  • Lilian Talbot as Aunt Hannah
  • & Dulcie Greatwich

Critical reception

Writing of the original production, The Annual Register described the play as "a really first-rate farce," and the performance of Ernest Thesiger (playing the comic hero), as "wonderful."[2]

Other productions

The play, with Stanley Lathbury from the London cast, opened on Broadway in August 1916 at the 39th Street Theatre, but closed after only 17 performances.[4] It was revived in London at the Ambassadors Theatre in 1923, with Thesiger reprising his role as Tully; and at the Ambassadors once more, in 1943.[5][6]

Adaptations

The play was twice turned into films during the silent era. A 1919 film A Little Bit of Fluff, again with Thesiger, Stanley Lathbury and Alfred Drayton, directed by Kenelm Foss; and the 1928 film A Little Bit of Fluff which featured Betty Balfour, the most popular British actress of the day.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ↑ Low p.149
  2. 1 2 ""A Little Bit of Fluff"Ernest Thesiger as Bertram TullyWest Pier, BrightonOctober 11Criterion Theatre, LondonOctober 27, 1915 - ?, 19181241 perf". ernestthesiger.org.
  3. ↑ "Theatre collections: record view - Special Collections & Archives - University of Kent". www.kent.ac.uk.
  4. ↑ League, The Broadway. "A Little Bit of Fluff – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  5. ↑ Slide, Anthony (13 March 1998). "Eccentrics of Comedy". Scarecrow Press – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Production of A Little Bit of Fluff - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  7. ↑ Low, Rachael (13 September 2013). "History of British Film (Volume 4): The History of the British Film 1918 - 1929". Routledge – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Little Bit of Fluff, A (1928) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  9. ↑ "BFI Screenonline: Balfour, Betty (1903-1978) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.

Bibliography

  • Low, Rachael. History of the British Film, 1918-1929. George Allen & Unwin, 1971.



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