Act 1 set for the JCW production of Kissing Time depicting the Garden of Georgette’s villa at Fontainebleu. JCW Scene Books, Book 8, Theatre Heritage Australia.
The onset of WWI severely curtailed the availability of new British musical comedies and Anglicised European operettas and comic operas, which had formed the mainstay of J.C. Williamson’s musical productions in Australia and New Zealand ever since Williamson himself had made his fortune by obtaining the exclusive rights to stage H.M.S. Pinafore, and all succeeding Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, in Australasia from 1879 onwards. But war or no war, Australian audiences still required entertainment as a respite from their workaday lives and the fresh concerns and worries associated with family members and friends and sweethearts serving in the armed forces abroad. With this in mind, the Managing Directors of J.C. Williamson Ltd., George Tallis, Hugh J. Ward and Clyde Meynell, turned to America as a fresh source of musical entertainment. (Prior to this the only American musical that had succeeded in Australia to any great extent had been The Belle of New York, and that only after it had been recast with local performers in place of its initially imported U.S. cast, whose playing methods proved to be too idiomatically American for local acceptance and whose chorus girls were no match for their Australian counterparts.)
Philadelphia-born Hugh J. Ward, especially, had a natural affinity with the land of his birth and an instinct for what would appeal to Australian audiences, gained after many years’ experience as both an actor-manager and producer, having first journeyed to the Antipodes in 1899 and stayed from 1906 onwards, attaining a directorship in JCW Ltd. in 1911. Ward thus made frequent trips to the U.S. during the war years in search of fresh musicals and plays for The Firm to stage Downunder. The first of these, High Jinks, produced in 1915, proved to be such a success that it was soon succeeded by further products of the Broadway stage, including So Long, Letty and Canary Cottage. Melbourne-born actress, Dorothy Brunton had achieved local stardom as the leading lady of these shows and in 1917, decided to spread her wings and try her luck on the Broadway stage and in the West End. Dot thus made her American stage debut in Philadelphia in a leading role in the Broadway-bound musical Follow the Girl in January 1918, in which she was reported to have made a great success. (The musical subsequently opened in New York in March 1918, without Dot, but flopped after only 25 performances.) Hugh J. Ward was also in the U.S. at the time to view the latest season of new shows and obtain options on the pick of the crop for JCW. After his return to Australia in March, the Melbourne Argus (15 March 1918, p.6) published an interview with Ward in which it was stated: ‘In reply to a question as to Miss Dorothy Brunton’s first appearance in America, Mr. Ward said that she was excellently received in “Follow the Girl.” She played in this for a fortnight in Philadelphia, to fill in time before rehearsals were to begin for “Madame, and Her Godson” by the … composer of “The Pink Lady” and “Oh! Oh! Delphine!” in which she was to appear in New York under the management of Klaw and Erlanger. There was every indication that Miss Brunton would be very successful.’ The report went on to note: ‘Arrangements were completed by Mr. Ward with eight leading New York managements for options on all their productions for Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Plays already secured include the musical production “Maytime,” “What Next?” by the author and composer of “Canary Cottage,” “Hitchy Koo,” “The Riviera Girl,” “Springtime,” “Madame and Her Godson,” and “Going Up” (dealing with aviation). Three others for early production are “Katinka” (now in rehearsal in Sydney), “Oh! Oh! Delphine!” and “Oh, Boy”.’
Act 2, Scene 3 set for the JCW production of Kissing Time depicting the Interior of the Café des Allies, Paris. JCW Scene Books, Book 8, Theatre Heritage Australia.
Not all of the named productions would be eventually staged in Australia, including Madame, and Her Godson (the ‘working title’—a literal translation of that of the French farce on which it was based) in its original form as The Girl Behind the Gun. But the revised West End version of Kissing Time made it onto the Australian stage instead. Meanwhile the reason behind Dorothy Brunton’s subsequent non-appearance in the original Broadway production of The Girl Behind the Gun went unreported in the local press. However, she did not remain idle in New York for long, but occupied herself in making a series of gramophone recordings for Columbia of songs that she had popularised in Australia, plus duets with Canadian tenor, Paul Default for which she was paid a reported $US 500. She was also feted by the Australian troops visiting New York City at the time and, as the ‘Digger’s Sweetheart’ featured in newsreel footage with them and the Melbourne-born actress-singers, the Castles sisters (Amy, Dolly and Eileen) which was subsequently screened in Australia. Dot then departed for England, where she achieved great success on the West End stage (helped along initially by her popularity with the Diggers on leave) and made no further forays into the U.S. theatre.
Kissing Time was given its Australian premiere at the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, on Saturday, 31 January 1920. Presented by J.C. Williamson Ltd., it was performed by their Royal Comic Opera Company. It was the second of two new musical comedies presented by the company during the 1919/1920 season. The other was Theodore and Co. which ran from 29 November 1919 to 30 January 1920 (nine weeks in total). Kissing Time ran for the remaining five and a half weeks, closing on 10 March 1920, when (to make way for the first Australian production of Tilly of Bloomsbury) it was transferred to Her Majesty’s Theatre, 11 March 1920 to 21 May 1920, an additional ten and a half weeks! A total of 111 performances. This made it Williamson’s longest running musical show, eclipsing Katinka, which had achieved 13 weeks in 1918.
In Melbourne Kissing Time also enjoyed a short revival from 9-22 October 1920 (‘twelve nights only’), when the Royal Comic Opera Company returned to the Theatre Royal.
The musical was directed by Jack Haskell, with ballets, dances and groupings invented and arranged by Minnie Everett. The musical director was Victor Champion. Scenery was by W.R. Coleman, George Upward, and W. Coleman Jr. Costumes were by Buckley and Nunn Ltd., made under the supervision of Madame Brook.
The cast for the first Australian production was as follows:
Having scored a huge hit with the Jerome Kern musical Theodore and Co., the same leads (excepting Florence Young) took up their roles in Kissing Time.
British-born Maude Fane (c.1890–1961) had been with Williamson’s since 1915, playing principal roles in pantomimes and comic operas, including Canary Cottage (1917), You’re in Love (1917) and Oh, Boy! (1918). Bundaberg-born Gladys Moncrieff (1892–1976), who had been climbing the JCW ladder since 1913, had in 1918 scored her first big successes playing the title-roles in Katinka and Oh! Oh!! Delphine!!. With Kissing Time, she received joint billing with Maude Fane, and as Georgette sang several of the show’s most popular songs. Over the following years she would star in Maytime (1919) and The Maid of the Mountains (1921). By the mid-1920s she had become one the highest-paid performers in the history of Australian theatre.
Of the leading men, Kissing Time was Theodore Leonard’s second appearance in Australia. He had played the Leslie Henson role of Pony Twitchen in Theodore and Co., and now had the Henson role in Kissing Time. Though not a household name, Leonard had enjoyed some success in the UK playing comedy roles in Our Miss Gibbs, The Sunshine Girl and The Girl from Utah.
The other male lead was Britisher Leslie Holland (1874–1952), who had been a mainstay of JCW productions since 1910, having come out to Australia as the juvenile lead in The Brass Bottle company. Since that time, he created leads in the first Australian productions of musicals including The Quaker Girl (1912), The Sunshine Girl (1913), The Dancing Mistress (1913), The Cinema Star (1916) and The Pink Lady (1917).
Arthur Stigant (1871–1959), another import, came to Australia in 1914—and stayed. A popular performer, he excelled as the Dame in pantomime, and for his first three years in Australia he played only Dame roles. He finally broke free when he appeared in Mr. Manhattan in 1917. Kissing Time was his second appearance in musical comedy in Australia. Thereafter he became a musical comedy regular notably in The Boy (1920), A Southern Maid (1923), Lilac Time (1926), The Student Prince (1927) and White Horse Inn (1934).
Also, in the cast playing the role of ‘Lord William’ was the Australian tenor, Allan Priora (né Lonergan) who in the later years of the 1920s would gain fame as a Broadway leading man performing in musicals produced by the Shubert brothers under the name of ‘Allan Prior’. These included the title role of The Student Prince (which he also played in the London premiere season) and the far less successful Vincent Youman’s musicals Rainbow and Great Day.
Further down the cast list playing the small part of ‘Maudi’ (one of four female chauffeurs) was dancer and future JCW ballet mistress/choreographer, Hazel Meldrum.
Maude Fane and Arthur Stigant in Kissing Time, 1920
From cover of Everyones, 16 June 1920
Gladys Moncrieff as Georgette St. Pol in Kissing Time, 1920. Photographer unknown.
State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
Royal—“Kissing Time”
Dresses and dancing are important features of “Kissing Time,” and had much to do with its success at the Theatre Royal on Saturday night. The two leading actresses sang well and the assorted comedy brought ready laughter, led by those who always come prepared to laugh readily. As a spectacle “Kissing Time” is remarkable and in other ways it takes a good place, forming a much brighter entertainment than “Theodore and Co.”.
Based on a French farce and bearing many traces of its origin, the new piece was staged in America before the armistice was signed as “The Girl Behind the Gun.” Altered in view of the cessation of hostilities and of the different type of audience, it was given in London by Messrs. Grossmith and Laurillard with a title which had been hit upon after several earlier attempts.
Certainly there is sufficient kissing to justify the changed name. The book is by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse with additional lyrics by Clifford Grey. There is sprightly music in the familiar manner of Ivan Caryll.
The action of the play passes in and around Paris. Georgette St. Pol, a young actress (Miss Gladys Moncrieff), has become a letter writing “godmother” to a soldier who turns out to be Brichoux, a regimental cook (Mr. Claude Bantock). Max Touquet, a soldier-dramatist (Mr. Leslie Holland), arranges to impersonate Brichoux so that he may persuade the actress to have one of his plays staged. Georgette flirts with him to revenge herself on her flirting husband (Mr. Theodore Leonard), and while they are giving a practical illustration of a kissing scene in the play they are surprised by her uncle Colonel Bollinger (Mr. Arthur Stigant). He has not met her husband, and naturally assumes that Touquet, alias, Brichoux is St. Pol. In order that the wealthy uncle may not be shocked St. Pol agrees to refrain from pointing out his mistake and when a question of identity arises he in turn becomes Brichoux, and is called upon to cook a meal. The farcical complications are increased by the arrival of Touquet’s wife (Miss Maude Fane) on a visit to her school friend Georgette. When all the available fun has been extracted from the situations matters are cleared up as usual in the last scene.
Miss Fane and Miss Moncrieff were seen and heard at their best. Miss Moncrieff acted appropriately as the piqued and airily revengeful wife, and ably depicted varying moods from demureness to vivacity, in her scenes and songs. Most of the vocal numbers were ordinary light farce, but the singing improved them, and in the duet, “Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight”, Miss Moncrieff and Miss Fane deservedly scored a triumph. Very appropriately Miss Fane treated her part in a more romantic spirit than usual, though with delightful touches of subdued comedy and her work, both as actress and as singer, was always pleasing.
Mr. Theodore Leonard in the low-comedy part of St. Pol worked very hard, and was rewarded with plenty of laughter. The connection of some of his jokes and business with the part was remote, but they succeeded in the object of causing mirth, even when he put his thumb to his nose or launched a kick at one of the other characters. He delivered his songs well and received various recalls. Mr. Holland made good use of the light comedy possibilities provided for Touquet, and Mr. Stigant was alert and clever as the colonel, though both he and Mr. Bantock had been given catchphrases which became monotonous. Miss Nellie Payne was seen as a servant of the soubrette type.
Extremely skillful acrobatic dancing was provided in a cafe scene by Miss Maude Amery, with the assistance of Mr. Robert Jackson, but, though it demanded great ability and brought tumultuous applause the effect was sometimes ugly instead of graceful. In modern dancing novelty is preferred to beauty. In an earlier scene Miss Louise Larssen was a third performer in a well-given variation on the apache dance. The chorus backings for songs and the other groupings and dances had been well supervised by Miss Minnie Everett. The garden and indoor garden scenes had a beauty of their own, and here and elsewhere the dresses (sometimes aided by uniforms) contributed greatly to the spectacular effect, leading in a sort of crescendo to the elaborations of form and colour provided in the café scene. The audience was often enthusiastic and Mr. Haskell as producer and Miss Everett as ballet mistress deservedly received a good share of the applause with which the evening ended.
[The Argus (Melbourne), 2 February 1920, p.8]
‘Some beautiful gowns from Kissing Time’. Photos by Monte Luke.
From The Ladies’ Sphere, 16 August 1920, p.16
Photos from Kissing Time taken by Monte Luke. 1. Lorna Gowland, 2. Gladys Moncrieff, 3. A showgirl, 4. Maude Fane, 5. Lear Pritchard, 6. Maude Fane & Gladys Moncrieff, 7. Maude Amery & Robert Jackson, 8. Leslie Holland & Maude Fane.
From The Ladies’ Sphere, 15 May 1920, p.12
Stage and Styles
Parade of Fashions
Although Australian designers are thousands of miles away from the centre of fashion they always seem able to evolve a truthful forecast of the coming modes. Their cleverness and foresight in this direction have been demonstrated frequently, but the latest manifestation of their watchfulness is provided with the advanced styles worn by the attractive stage girls taking part in Kissing Time, the new J.C. Williamson musical play at the Theatre Royal.
Simultaneously with the cabled announcement from London that hooped skirts had come back into favor, Miss Gladys Moncrieff appeared in Kissing Time wearing a charming model belonging to the new order, the skirt of white lace being flounced to the waist and distended over the hips with a steel hoop attached to the silk slip underneath. A simple bodice of white taffeta and a bustle bow of the same material sets the lace off to advantage, and a hair wreath of variegated flowers adds to the old-world character of the frock.
The new style is also presented in exaggerated form with the hip line so much distended that the top of the frock is not unlike one of the fanciful shades used to screen standard lamps.
Flowers and Garlands in Favor
Another idea worthy of note is the lavish way sprays of hand-made flowers and veiled garlands are used for beautifying many of the stage frocks. The fashion-plate on this page illustrates the new scheme of trimming, the floral spray at, the waistline being identical in style to one worn by Miss Moncrieff. This fancy for veiling decorative effects after the style of the model illustrated is presented in an elaborate silver and green frock worn by Miss Gladys Moncrieff in the opening of the second act.
The foundation of leaf-green georgette is banded with silver lace, edged with mauve ribbon, studded with mauve roses and green leaves. This is veiled with silver net handed with wide silver lace, the fancifulness being further enhanced with a pannier drapery of leaf-green georgette and sprays of tinted flowers at the waistline and shoulder.
Veiled effects and floral strands are again used with artistic effect in a model designed for Miss Maude Fane. This is a very dainty garment, showing sprays of georgette flowers shading from pale pink to deep cerise, interspersed with jade-green leaves hanging loosely on a slip of blue accordion-pleated chiffon. This shows through layers of net, the top skirt being embroidered with opalescent beads. The corsage of pale blue taffetas is finished with a petal-shaped basque bordered with pale pink georgette roses.
According to a fashion cable received by “The Herald” from London on Wednesday, an attempt Is being made to revive interest in trousered effects for evening wear. Miss Fane is well abreast of the fashions, for this frock of hers is finished off with close-fitting trouserettes of opalescent embroidery, showing some Inches below the skirt hem.
Styles For All
All the frocks have been created by the up-to-date designers of Buckley and Nunn’s, so they must be taken as truly Indicative of modes that will be more or less adopted. This being so, one Is able to arrive at the comfortable conclusion that there is such a “go-as-you-please” character about the present evening fashions that every woman may wear what suits her best. She may have a hoop skirt, a pannier skirt, a flounced skirt, a tunic or a gown draped on classical lines.
Miss Violet Yorke shows oft to advantage a long gown in the draped style, folds of gold tissue, banded with a black conventional design, being draped in long graceful lines about a moyen age corsage of gold lace over tissue. With this is worn a fantastical head-dress, comprising a skull cap of gold lace surmounted with feathers, shading from pink to amethyst, arranged in the form of a fan, and measuring about a yard both In height and width.
Head-dresses in similar design are also worn by some of the show girls, whose dressing is one of the interesting features of the entertainment.
Classical Draperies a Feature
All their gowns are fashioned on classical lines. Miss Leah Pritchard’s frock of crimson and gold brocade is draped in long, graceful folds, and finished off with a large gauze-lined bow attached to the left hip. Reminiscent of a Grecian robe is a gown worn by Miss Gladys Thomas, an artistic effect being Introduced with train draperies of pink and ivory georgette over a sheath of pink and gold brocade.
Acid green and gold brocade forms the material for Miss Irene Caffyn’s frock, which has a long, close-fitting corsage of gold lace with a jewelled motif with long cords and tassels of gold at one side.
The bright colors are varied with a gown of black and silver tissue worn by Miss Dolly Massy, and another in white and black brocaded ribbon worn by Miss Lorna Gowland.
Slightly different in outline is Miss Myrtle Reed’s frock of bright sapphire and blue and silver tissue, trimmed with black chenille tassels and draped to a V shaped corsage of silver tissue banded with blue velvet ribbon and studded with jewels.
Altogether, the dresses in Kissing Time are a revelation, and form one of the. most striking attractions of the piquant production.
[The Herald (Melbourne), 10 February 1920, p.3]
Sheet music cover for ‘Waters of Venice’, sung by Gladys Moncrieff. Published by J. Albert & Son, Sydney, [1920].
National Library of Australia, Canberra
Sheet music cover for ‘Some Day Waiting Will End’ sung by Maude Fane in the JCW production of Kissing Time. Published by Chappell & Co., Melbourne, [1920].
National Library of Australia, Canberra
The Songs
The Australian production was an exact replica of the London production, but, as was common practice for JCW musicals staged at this period, the score had been bolstered with additional interpolated numbers to showcase the leading ladies and to appeal to the popular musical tastes of its audience. These included ‘My Baby’s Arms’ (lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, music by Harry Tierney) as a solo for Gladys Moncrieff with the Chorus Gentlemen; subsequently replaced by ‘Tell Me Why’ (lyrics by Richard Coburn, music by Vincent Rose); and ‘Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight’ (lyrics by Harold G. Frost, music by F. Henri Klickmann) as a duet for Gladys Moncrieff and Maude Fane; while ‘Waters of Venice’ (lyrics by Neville Fleeson, music by Albert Von Tilzer) was added later in the run as a further solo for Gladys Moncrieff (most likely replacing ‘Tell Me Why’ in Act 2, Scene 2). Additional dance music was also commonly interpolated into the score as specialty numbers for the featured dancers, in this case the Apache and Eccentric dances in Act 2, composed by the resident musical director, either Victor Champion in Melbourne or Andrew McCunn in Sydney.
The original orchestra parts for Kissing Time remain extant in the ‘J.C. Williamson collection of performance materials’ archived at the National Library of Australia in Canberra and reveal that the music was scored for 1st violin, 2nd violin, cello, bass, flutes, clarinets, oboe, bassoon, horns, cornets, euphonium, trombones, drums and piano.
The musical program was as follows:
Act 1
Opening Chorus (Robert Jackson & Chorus Ladies)
‘Godmothers’ (Gladys Moncrieff & Chorus)
‘Motors’ (Theodore Leonard & Chorus)
‘A Happy Family’ (Gladys Moncrieff, Theodore Leonard & Leslie Holland)
‘Some Day Waiting Will End’ (Maude Fane)
‘Desertions’ (Leslie Holland)
‘I Like It’ (Gladys Moncrieff, Theodore Leonard, Leslie Holland & Arthur Stigant)
‘Don’t Fall in Love with Me’ (Maude Fane & Theodore Leonard)
Act 2, Scene 1
‘Cookery’ (Alternate title for Opening Chorus) (Theodore Leonard & Chorus Ladies)
‘Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight’ (Gladys Moncrieff & Maude Fane)
‘How Warm It is To-day’ (Gladys Moncrieff, Theodore Leonard, Leslie Holland & Arthur Stigant) [now a Quartette]
‘Women Haven’t Any Mercy on a Man’ (Theodore Leonard)
‘Joan and Peter’ (Maude Fane & Leslie Holland)
Act 2, Scene 2
Dance – ‘Apache’ (Maude Amery, Louise Larsson & Robert Jackson)
‘My Baby’s Arms’ / ‘Tell Me Why’ (Gladys Moncrieff & Chorus Gentlemen)
‘Thousands of Years Ago’ (Maude Fane)
Act 2, Scene 3
Dance—Eccentric (Louise Larsson & Robert Jackson)
‘Oh, ma Cherie!’ (Gladys Moncrieff)
‘There’s a Light in Your Eyes’ (Maude Fane & Leslie Holland)
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. Flashlight photo by Sears taken at the Boat Race Night Gala Performance.
From The Australasian, 15 May 1920
A special occasion was Boat Race Night, when a Gala performance was given at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday, 8 May 1920 to celebrate the annual Public Schools of Victoria Head of the River race held on the Yarra, which also coincided with Kissing Time’s 100th Melbourne performance. The auditorium was decorated throughout, as described in detail in the following review of the event published in the Melbourne Age (10 May 1920, p.8):
CREWS at Her Majesty’s.
New Version of “Kissing Time.”
“Kissing Time” at Her Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday night had its original libretto and dressing only as a framework and background for a new version. It was the boat race night version. Frequently the action of the “show” was held up while some especially popular “gag” was given full manifestation of approval. But it was the boys’—and the flappers’—night, and the principals good humoredly accepted the situation and awaited the subsiding of the ebullitions of enthusiasm. Principals, ballet, and chorus wore the colors of one or other of the schools. The principals wore school blazers, and, frequently changing from that of one school to another, aroused fresh outbursts of sectional cheering with every change. A gallant Melbourne Grammarian threw to Miss Maude Fane his dark blue blazer, and a blushing Geelong Grammarian sustained the honor of his school with a similar gift. The quite evident idol of the boys coyly arrayed herself with one blazer on each arm. Special songs with verses devoted to each school were sung, but only in the intervals of the cheers. The entry of the crews, with the exception of Wesley, to the stalls before the first curtain occasioned wild excitement. The theatre was appropriately decorated. Above and flanking the proscenium were the standards of the schools. The boxes were garlanded, festoons of the colors of the six schools draped the front of the circle, and the flags of the schools the gallery. Throughout the night streamers were thrown from every portion of the house to the stage and caught by the performers, while the ascent of balloons colored or bearing ribbons in the various colors occasioned cheering, regardless of the proceedings on the stage. But no one minded anything, and the more extravagant the fun the greater the laughter of parents and collegians and sisters. The artists were overwhelmed with flowers and other gifts, the attached ribbons indicating the source. Cinematograph views, amid school cheers and war cries, were shown of the boats and the final of the boat race.
* * * * * *
In honour of the Gala occasion special lyrics were written for the songs ‘Desertions’, ‘Women Haven’t any Mercy on a Man’, and an additional interpolated number sung by Maude Fane, all of which abounded with topical references and local allusions to the schoolboy teams, who laughed and cheered throughout. These were also printed in a complimentary souvenir program distributed at the theatre on the night (a copy of which is extant in the collection of the State Library Victoria) thus:
With the conclusion of the record-breaking Melbourne-season, Kissing Time headed north to Sydney, opening at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 29 May 1920. The cast remained the same, though resident conductor Andrew MacCunn was now in charge of the orchestra. A few weeks into the season, on Tuesday, 22 June, the theatre played host to HRH Edward the Prince of Wales, and for the occasion, the theatre was elaborately decorated and illuminated. A specially mounted ‘Pageant of Empire’, presented under the direction of George Highland, was staged prior to the musical. Featuring music by Andrew MacCunn and words by Adam McCay, it starred Florence Young as The Spirit of the Empire, Gladys Cole as Australia, Gladys Moncrieff as Canada, Maude Fane as India, Nellie Stewart as New Zealand, and Browning Mummery as Africa. In her 1923 autobiography My Life’s Story, Nellie Stewart admitted to being a bit miffed at not being selected to represent Australia, the part being given to the little-known Gladys Cole. After the first act of Kissing Time, a flashlight photograph was taken of the auditorium to commemorate the occasion. A report in The Sun (23 June 1920) recorded the Prince as saying: ‘It’s a ripping good show; the decorations are beautiful; I am enjoying the piece immensely.’
Cover of HRH, Edward the Prince of Wales Gala Performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, 22 June 1920
Frank Van Straten collection
Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney, decorated and illuminated for the visit of the Prince of Wales, 1920
State Library of New South Wales, Sydney
The ‘Pageant of Empire’ remained on the bill throughout the following week. (Andrew MacCunn’s manuscript full-score for the pageant remains extant in the Andrew MacCunn collection archived at the University of Glasgow.
Kissing Time held the stage until 20 August 1920, achieving a respectable 12 weeks. Thereafter, it enjoyed seasons in Adelaide (4 September 1920–17 September 1920), Ballarat (4 October 1920), Geelong (6 October 1920), and a return Melbourne season (9 October 1920–22 October 1920). Over the course of the run some cast changes occurred, notably Jack Ralston replacing Arthur Stigant as the Colonel and Harry Ratcliffe in place of Claude Bantock.
Promised seasons in Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand did not eventuate.
Subsequently, on 23 June 1921, the death of Claude Bantock was announced. Aged just 45, he had been a prominent member of the Royal Comic Opera Company since 1915. The same year, 21 November, also saw the death of the composer, Ivan Caryll. Leading lady Maude Fane stepped away from the limelight at the close of the 1921 season following her marriage on 25 August 1920 to Robert Foley Knight. Director Jack Haskell departed for the UK to oversee the choreography on several London shows, including Sally (Winter Garden, 1921), Fun of the Fayre (London Pavilion, 1921), Love’s Awakening (Empire, 1922) and The Cabaret Girl (Winter Garden, 1922). Theodore Leonard was reported to have given up the stage and was running a hotel in Wagga Wagga!
Cast lists for the 1920 Melbourne season of Kissing Time
