Monash University > Library > Exhibitions > Fifty Books from Fifty Years >

45. Tivoli instruction books

Chosen by:
Dr John Whiteoak,
School of Music - Conservatorium, Faculty of Arts

Wartime Concert Party Instruction Manual and 'Complete Show' Books for performers at the Tivoli Theatre, Melbourne. [1942?] 3 vols.

This three-part exhibit features a Manual of Instruction for Producers of Concert Parties by Wallace R. Parnell, General Manager and Producer for the Australian Tivoli Circuit, and two 'Complete Show' books, Strip For Action and Pleasure on Parade.

Strip for Action was written by Parnell, the circuit's Musical Director, Stanley Porter, and the Tivoli writer and librarian, Fredrick Parsons and they were joined by Tivoli Assistant Producer, Paul Jacklin, in the writing of Pleasure on Parade. All three items are from the music collection of the Italian-Australian classical violinist, 1930s tango band leader, and theatre conductor, Angelo Candela, who enlisted as a concert party musical director during World War Two. The Candela collection was donated to Monash Rare Books by the COASIT Italian Historical Society in 2007.

Manual of Instruction for Producers of Concert Parties was produced around 1942 when many successful figures in Australian entertainment were enlisting as members or directors of entertainment units. London born Parnell, son of the famous British ventriloquist, Fred Russell, joined the Tivoli Circuit as Producer in 1935 with previous experience ranging from World War One concert parties and small village revues to major London West End shows for the likes of Tommy Trinder. His manual was specifically intended to assist in the production of the Tivoli 'complete shows' for wartime entertainment.

The manual provides fascinating and invaluable insight into how an Australian wartime concert party was supposed to be produced, rehearsed, and accompanied with music. It also offers insightful tips such as:

I have noticed that, in many Concert Parties that the performers have a habit of playing to the "Brass Hats"... They should be instructed that these shows are for the rank and file and it is on them that they should concentrate.

Despite suggestive show titles, like Strip for Action, Parnell demands the avoidance overly blue humor:

Men don't like dirty stories when told on stage. Any idiot can be funny if he is going to be filthy.

He also advises:

Don't let your comedians crack too many Jokes about Hitler. Don't overdo the "Sissy" or "Pansy" type of jokes.' 'Speed is essential and the "appearance" of speed, more so.'

The 'complete show' books provide the running order and detail of the shows exactly as they were intended to be performed, with allowable exceptions such as the alteration of place names to make the shows more topical. More importantly they provide a vivid snapshot of what amused and entertained ordinary Australians of the early 1940s who, for whatever reasons, donned a uniform and became part of the war effort.

Photo album created with Web Album Generator