Daily Post - 27.08.1941, Side 3

DAILY POST
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The Show Goes On
London’s Theatres And Cinemas
Under Fire
Great Touring Tradition Revived
by Sidney Horniblow
RADIO NEWS
Wednesday: Swing Sextette
(Sectiion of the For<je Orcihestna).
Tharsday: Birds of a Feather
(D. L.I. Concert Party).
Friday: Studio Conoert, and a
play “The Monkey’s Pawi“.
Sunday: Foroe Orehestra.
What The Ribbons
Mean
SOUTH AFRICAN MEDALS
Many older men are entitled
to wear the ribbons of the
Queen’s and ’ King’s Medals
awarded for service during the
Bcer War.
Recipients of the Queen’s
Medal, who served in South
Africa between October 11,
1899, and May 31, 1902, wear a
ribbon with an orange centre,
flanked by red and blue stripes.
The ribbon for holders of the
King’s Medal, granted to those
serving in South Africa on or
after January 1, 1902, is green,
white and orange.
Bars to the Queen’s Medal
Were granted for a number of
actions, including the Defence
of Kimberlay and the Relief of
Mafeking.
THE RUSSIAN AIR FORCE
(Continued from page 4.)
tons to 6,000 tons in five years.
An official of the Russian Air
Mission in London has stated
that this figure has at least
doubled since the war began,
due to the full-scale operation
of the Russian aircraft industry
and the pressure of the oncom-
ing conflict with Germany.
Assuming therefore a 12,000-
ton bomb load and an average
of two tons a bomber (allowing
for the proportion of light and
heavy bombers) and we get a
figure of 6,000 bombers in the
Russian ‘first line’. The same
official told me that fighter
strength is thirty per cent of
the total Air Force strength,
including land and sea re-
connaissance planes. On this
basis a fair guess would be that
Russia has about 3,000 first-line
fighters. These may seem big
totals, but the fact remains that
Voroshilov was able to put
5,000 fighters into the air dur-
ing the 1939 May Day parade
-— and but for the weather con-
ditions, he said, there would
have been half as many again.
Bombs may fall, buit the cur-
tain gioes u/p as usual. London’s
theatPes ahe true to> their tradi-
tiion. Whatevef happens the show
goes om ’The biack-out has closed
down on the lights wihich flashed
their names, so the stars twinkle
while the sun shines.
Matinees take place almost as
usuaj, but evening showis are
earlier. The audienoe gets home
well before dark. Nobody is
afraid of bombs in the vday-time
ntotw, so the “houise-full” boards
go up just at the time that we
wtould be dressing for dinner 'in
1 the palmy days of peaoe..
No tails and Tuxedos in the
stalls. No ermine aod ordhids
oo gleaming wihite shoulders.
But the holuse is full ,and the
Laughs ring loud. Comedy is the
order of the day. Half 4he shows
in London mow are gay íevues.
There are three or fouir vspectacu-
lar “musicals” and miore are on
the wlay to Catich the cheers be-
fore the dark nights come again.
1 These big hright shows raised
a puzzle for the Board of Trade
qhiefs when they ainniounced
Clotbes rationing in June. One
revue alone takes 800 dresses,
wihich onjy !ast six or seven
momths.
essential for war EFFORT
T,he ballet wear out 30 pairs
of shoes a week.
Film and stage producers ap-
pealed for qonicessions. No one
expeCted suc.h a swieeping order
as the general clothes rationing
to go through without some ad-
justmenits being neoessary. And
have not the cinemas and the-
atres pnoved their worth as
wiar-time toniqs?
Youi migbt almost say they are
essemtiai war-táme servjWes. They
pay the Government wiéll. One
shotvi alone tu,rns in 1,200 pounds
a week in entertainment tax-
The box-offioe takings show
hoiw much they’are in demand.
Cinema attendances a>re up o.n
sunny spring eveaings. The moon
infiuenœs the money. Before the
heavy blitzes came, and before
o!d ladies got used to the talack-
oiut, business was best on moon-
light nights. Novv the moom is
likely to bring the bombers, so
dark nights swiell the box-office
takings.
And no miserable piotures
pleaise'! Gomedy, and gay re-
mance are tops; though we don’t
rnind a good real-life pioture or
•feven a war film if it is wiell
do.ne, and packed wáth heroes.
If a real aár raid begins before
the showi is over, the aiudienœ
Can be heroes too. During a
•tenise lo\>e soene the roof spot-
ters may flash doiwn themessage.
“German ’planes approadiing!"
The audienoe are in another
wiorld. The clamour of war out-
side oaninot distraict the rapt at-
tention of the house. The man(-
ager slips 'out from the wings.
“I’m sony' to interrupt,“ he says,
“but an air raid’s just started.
We shal! carry on with the show,
buti, of ooiurse, you oan leave if
you wlsB."
BUSINESS, BOMBS
PERMITTING
A warden in the nine|>ennies
and a doctor in the cdpcle pikk
up théir steel helments and go
out to duty. The rest of the
audienoe settle in their seats and
the showi goes ion.
When war began, every cinema
and theatre in London was ord-
(Contnued on page 4.)