LOST EMPIRES

Music by Denis King - Lyrics and adaptation by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall from the novel by J.B. Priestley

A story of greed and envy, greasepainted suicide and sexual awakening set in the dying music halls just prior to World War II. The Empires being lost are only by extension those of old Queen Victoria, they are primarily those of Stoll and Moss on the great provincial touring circuits, about to crumble not at the roar of the guns in Flanders but at the silent threat of film.

Produced by The Cambridge Theatre Company & the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

PERFORMANCES

First performed at Darlington Civic Theatre on 15 May 1985

CAST (11 M, 4 W)

Brian Rawlinson, Peter Ledbury, Leslie Randall, Anthony Gardner, Jonathan Stephens, Peter Adamson, Angela Richards, Kevin Quarmby, Julia Chambers, Geoffrey Drew, Eddie Caswell, Ron Emslie, Antonia Pemberton, Daniel Watson, Paddy Navin

MUSICAL NUMBERS (demos)

Click on any track name in blue to listen to the track, use the controls on the right hand side to play, pause and stop the audio.

• A FUNERAL’S NOT A FUNERAL WITHOUT A FUNERAL TEA
• HE’S A SWEET BOY
• YOU’RE SO DIFFERENT
• THE BILL
• QUITE THE GENTLEMAN
• ACTORS & ARTISTS
• I'M A SUCCESS
• NICE GIRLS DON’T
• THE SHOW MUST GO ON
• TWICE NIGHTLY
• IF AUTUMN MET SPRING
• LOST EMPIRES
• ‘OW’S ABAHT?
• A PREDICTION
• I’VE SEEN IT ALL
• IT'LL ALL BE OVER BY CHRISTMAS

KINGS’ COMMENTS

LOST EMPIRES opened in Darlington and then went everywhere but into the Old Vic, where it was supposed to, which made everyone involved suicidal, except for a couple of not-very-good cast members who worried that being in the West End might tie them up for other things (like unemployment).

Actors, I tell you.

Den was slightly cheered by his friend Benny Green ringing to say he’d just read a rave for the show in “Punch” which especially praised the music, so we immediately bought five hundred issues. Only the day before, Denis had received this gem of a notice (in the one review which even mentioned there was music in this musical): “Denis King’s music is handy.”

Handy? What does that mean? As in, lucky thing Den just happened to have a song called ‘TWICE NIGHTLY’ rolled up in his back pocket when, ambling through the streets of London one evening, he heard someone in an open window up above tearing his hair out, wailing “Oh, if only we had an opening song for Act Two--but where to find one this time of night??"

Critics. I tell you. Astrid King