AN INCONVENIENT BLACK HISTORY OF BRITISH MUSICAL THEATRE 1900-1950 by Sean Mayes and Sarah K Whitfield
Published by Methuen Drama
This immensely detailed book (60 pages of notes, nine of bibliography and eleven of index) examines British cultural history in the first half of the twentieth century and argues that black performance practice played a major role in the resistance to, and challenging of, racism. And, written as the Black Lives Matter movement soared to world attention last year it’s more relevant today than ever.
We meet key figures such as Will Garland, Alberta Hunter, Mabel Mercer and many more. There was a great deal of black musical theatre in the UK although, as these authors observe, it is largely ignored or sidelined in standard histories. Take for example a concert at London Pavilion on 29 January 1928. Ostensibly a charitable flood relief concert, organised by African American musician Noble Sissle, it ran over three hours. It served as a memorial to Florence Mills and highlights “the sheer breadth of Black performance at work in British theatre” as well as raising over $5,000. I admit to never having heard of any of these people which perfectly illustrates the point Mayes and Whitfield are making. Yes, this history is both inconvenient and uncomfortable.
The authors have made a declared decision not, wherever possible, to quote the racial slurs endured by black practitioners because it perpetuates attitudes although in some ways this tones down what is already an upbeat account of achievement against a horrifying background of prejudice.
Take Edric Connor, for instance, who became a major part British Music and Theatrical life after the second world war but who “faced considerable racism which prevented his career developing further” – although he was the first black actor to appear in the RSC.