THE PALLADIUM MINSTRELS

By the turn of the 20th century the big minstrel shows had all but disappeared but, in 1912, a new manager took over the recently opened London Palladium theatre and swept away the drama and opera bills with a revival of minstrelsy that was bigger and better than anything the country had ever seen before. With around 100 performers on stage including 40 banjo players the Palladium Minstrels gave more than 800 performances in 14 months, playing to no fewer than one and three quarter million people throughout Great Britain. They also set attendance records in many theatres in London and the Provinces. This book lists more than 80 of the artistes who appeared with the troupe including biographical details of several of the principal performers. The nature of a typical minstrel performance is covered in some detail with examples of the jokes, the songs and the sketches. This is the story of The Palladium Minstrels.