Variety Report

Variety is were different types of acts are put together to form one show. What one may classify as a variety performance can be anything from dancing to circuit to comedy , any type of performance qualifies. Popular acts back when it all started would have been comical singing however some acts were 'were unashamedly patriotic or sentimental, about true love, mother love, moon and June, idyllic villages, shady trees and wandering streams' which enforces that variety can be any type of performance.








Its origins can be traced back to the 18th century where it first appeared in music halls and supper rooms. Supper rooms was where working class citizens gathered for some food and entertainment as the owners noticed that providing entertainment increased their sales in alcohol. In Britain these supper halls had a rough audience that talked over the performers and sometimes attacked them with food if they didn't enjoy the performance.  At the end of a long day the middle class men would attend these supper rooms and for an affordable price provide food and entertainment for them. The acts that were mainly successful were comical songs written for the working class about the rich for example songs mocking their bosses that they would sing along to. This type of entertainment saw the birth of Sam Cowell and other comical singers like Sam Collins.






Super rooms were male only and as time went some evolved to music halls that provided more professional singers, allowed females to attend and also a less harsher crowd. The London pavilion is an example of this because it started as a supper room and in 1861 became a Music Hall. Music halls did not enforce social divide however you were likely to find more working class in super rooms than in music halls.




The evolution of variety turn a slight turn with the induction of music halls because singers kept the comedy element from super rooms singing about everyday life (bosses, rent, unfaithful wives etc.) and addressed social issues in their entertainment. an example can be found in on the VAM website 'Many songs, and much of the comedy, were a comment on social conditions. They reflected working class life. Marie Lloyd’s hit 'My Old Man Said Follow the Van, and Don’t Dilly-Dally on the Way' was about doing a moonlight flit to avoid paying the rent and Gus Elen’s 'If it Wasn’t for the Houses in Between' was about the overcrowded living conditions in London’s East End'  This was a form of one of the popular acts known as character songs.




The Victorian Era saw rise of Lion Comique and George Leybourne was noted the best in Comiques. This was the birth of boy bands that have now evolved to groups such as the modern one direction and take that. During the Victorian Era these were young character singers that sang about the high life and their attitudes were 'distinctly laddish' in contrast to modern boy bands.






Surprisingly audiences would go back time after time to see the same acts which allowed them to memorise the songs and sing along to them just like people at football games would go watch their team and chant the same songs match after match. I think that media played a big part in their society because they didn't have any sort of media therefore they had to the halls to see and listen to their favourite songs. Think had a knock on effect to modern variety because people can now access thousands of entertainment however variety is still popular in modern context for example shows like


Britain's Got Talent are still a big hit and there are also other nation loved programmes that originated from variety for example the X Factor (offers a range of different singing genres.)




These super rooms turned to music halls that encouraged women to attend and offered different entertainments on different days. The Canterbury music hall was the first of the music hall kind. It provided free entry making profit through food sales. I think that this place had a significant impact on the evolution of Variety because it was the first to provide tables and seats (700 seat capacity as the business improved) for the audiences to comfortably enjoy their food and entertainment. Music halls were a big hit with the society because it allowed women to dine with men and not just sit at home all day this meant more sales in alcohol and food for the owner therefore more places like this started to open.






Variety continued to evolve as the early 20th century saw large purpose built theatres like the Edwardian Theatres mainly designed by Frank Matcham. These theatres were beautiful with golf leaf traits and red chairs that were fixed in contrast to the table settings in music halls. Eating and drinking faded away in these sort of theatres and the darkening of the auditorium minimised the interaction between the audience. Its capacity and pricing was a big hit for the upper class and still affordable by the average working class which meant that it generated larger audiences.This the beginning of modern theatre as we know it because our theatres have red seats that are not in table settings. We have now added surround sound and 3D viewing as adaptations from the 20th century plus some places now offer 4D screenings.






Music halls provided more professional singers such Sam Cowell however the 20th century saw new built theatres that provided top end performers and everything was controlled by the new developed role of producers. This was the beginning of the large number of jobs that the theatre offers. Many traits of modern theatre originated from variety for Oswald Stoll owned a string of music halls and tried to pay his actors as little as possible which is something that we modern times leading to minimum actors pay laws to be introduced.






Historically media (writing and performing) was used mainly to consult social issues because people did not have the right to speak up to authority or go against them because punishments were extreme in modern views. Nowadays media is still used to consult social issues for example Malala used Facebook to get support on fighting for girl's rights to attend school in Islamic states. As technology has advance media has grown and most use it for entertainment purposes and the media industry generates lots of money through providing entertainment.






Variety has grown overtime and there are lots of programmes seen in Morden television that enforce this for example there are plenty of dancing / singing / comedy shows that offer different types acts within the same genre. Apart from being separated into categories some people have kept it original proving performers in their bars ,others offering karaoke nights. The evolution of variety is mother to stand up comedy and open mic evening provided in theatres.






Britain's Got Talent offers the general public a chance to perform in the royal variety show and sum prize of £250 000. The awards provide them with publicity and thousands of people enter the show which means thousands watch the show which generates them thousands of pounds plus people get to vote for their favourite acts making them even more money. In the eyes of the public they are offering a large sum of money for next to nothing however from that they get lots of money just like the alcohol provided lots of money behind the acts performing back when variety started. X Factor works just about the same way which reflects the evolution of variety and how media is used to get these events/ programmes popular.






In 1912 the Royal King George V and Queen Mary attended the 'Royal Command Performance' which is the equivalent of the Royal Variety Show where only a chosen few get to perform in front of the Royals. This still happens every year and it is a big owner to even get a ticket to be a member of the audience in this event let alone to perform in this occasion. The first royal theatre saw 'Vesta Tilley appear on stage in trousers'  which was a big deal because it was not considered moderate for a women to be seen in a pair of trousers at that time.




The contrast between the famous acts back when it all started to modern context is quite sublime as more acts have been added to variety performance for example Britain's Got talent the last two year his been won by dog acts. Out of thousands of performers trained animals seem to a hit with modern society. When variety first started it was all about comical singing for example performers like Sam Cowell were a hit with the public. 'The theme of the ballad is the traditional one of lovers parted by parental interference who then commit suicide and are buried in one grave'  something along the lines of Romeo and Juliet.


Two acts I might do would be a solo in our variety show or a group performance in the Brighton Fringe festival. I that the main difference between the two would be audience that come to see it for example in the college variety show friends and parents would come and watch therefore it is guaranteed  not to be a harsh crowd. On the other hand a bigger audience is guaranteed however most members of the audience may have had a bit to drink and maybe not so friendly towards the acts that they don't like just like the super room set up in the super rooms. Another important factor with the differences between the two would be that in a solo I will have to generate the ideas by myself in contrast to the group one were I will be working alongside others to come up with material. Both have cons and pros because the trouble with having more people is that there are more chances of conflict leading to slow progress being made in contrast to a solo where I could just get on with my idea and there would be no clash of ideas.


After considering a few factors I decided to go for the Brighton fringe because it will be a chance to represent my college. The group setting will enhance hard work because of the motivation given to be by others and some that I give out. I find it easy getting along with others in a project and I think that it will also help me perform at my best.I would have more rehearsal time as it would take the group longer to be in sync.
































(sources used-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_show    http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/m/music-hall-character-acts/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9NWMmiXtWw
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZTliSF_c9s

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/m/music-hall-character-acts/ )