10 
LAND & WATER 
iNovember 29, 1917 
Minstrelsy in Macedonia 
By H. Collinson Owen (Editor of The Balkan News). 
runs high. Pride of fairies in man}' cases is second only to 
pride of regiment. There are earnest O.C. Concert Parties 
who will assure you with a quiver in the voice and almost a 
tear in the eye, that their particular Fifi or Mimi (the influence 
of our gallant Allies is extraordinarily strong in these matters) 
or whatever her name may be, is incomparably the best that 
IT wasthe hrst timei naaevci it-aii> ^""fe"_— — . ,.ver kicked a high heel or showed a hint of lingerie on a 
ing words of " Wav down in Tennessee. .Ihey \\er>^ Macedonian stage, and that a ten-hour journey up country to 
being sung witli great earnestness by a young, pleasam^ ^^_^^ j^^^ .^ ^ bagatelle compared with the delight that awaits 
face<l coiknev sailor who stood near the breech ot a <)•- ^^^^.^^^ arrival. They insist on impounding you on the spot, to 
. . ■ :,....„ ^...........chnntrnP all around j.^,^,^ ^^j ^ee what Mimi can do. 
" Tlie roses rahnd the door 
Make me love I^Iother more. . . . 
\\ henagetbac k 
^Vhenagetbac k 
To ma home in Tennessee . ; 
•T was the first time I Ixad ever really caught the astounj- 
words of ■• Way down in Tennessee. .The> were 
^on a tiny improvised stage. There was »^"ntmg all arouM 
him ami somewhere behind was concealed the orchestra-an 
accordion. The occasion was the second birthday of one 01 
our small and more exotic ships of war. 
" I think," whispered the Skipper as the wonderful song 
finished, ■' that we'll go aft when ihe interval comes, and lea\e 
•the rest of (he concert to them." A little later a group ot 
us sat in deck <liaiis, energetically grasping whis^kies and sodas, 
and looking over to the twinkling lights of Salonika, ine 
sounds of the concert came more faintly to our ears. 
" It is the best we can do," said the Skipper, 
no pianos or concert parties and things on this ship ^ . 
bad show, considering ; and the men enjoy it. 
talked of other things, including the war. 
" We've 
. . Mot a 
Then we 
Musical Comedy 
I was certairriy amazed on seeing my first musical comedy 
star of the Balkans. I do not pretend for a moment that she 
could have played with success the leading role at the Gaiety 
or Daly's. But she would certainly have been welcomed in 
the first row of the chorus. Tall and willowy, hair of gold, 
expressive eyes— only the voice slightly marred the general 
effect, and even that was really not so bad. It could easily 
be reconciled with the idea that the leading " lady " had a 
slight cold. Since then, I have seen a score of Fifis, and some 
of them have even been a big improvement on the first. 
***** There is one beauty chorus in particular which makes subalterns 
That unostentatious little ship's concert is but one of some ponder if they are dreaming. And it is quite impossible while 
scores of entertainments that 1 have attended in and around 
Macedonia, and onlv in casting the mind back is it possible 
to realise how much "the men of this army have done for them- 
selves in relieving the intolerable tedium that comes ot a 
long campaign in a wild and comfortless coCntry. Some 
eighteen months or more ago I was present at a concert at a 
Corps Headquarters, which at that time was fairly near to 
Sal(mika. The stage, artfully contrived with electric lights 
and all sorts of other "gadgets," was set at the foot of a 
slope, and rising from it were tiers of semicircular seats 
cut in the hard red ground. In the front row sat generals, 
laughing as heartily as schoolboys at the efforts of the come- 
dians. Behind the few hundreds of seated officers were stand- 
ing some thousands of men, all in the very best of humour, 
and forgetting for the time being that the war had brought 
Hiem to a strange country where they found themselves 
" up against " many novel and disconcerting parts of life. 
The jokes from the stage brought with them a pleasant whifi 
of London or Birmingham or Manchester ; references to local 
conditions down in Salonika evoked roars of delight. Even 
the distressing subject of quinine provided mirth — and still 
provides it, by the way. Shortly after the show started a huge 
moon topped' the hill behind, looking down on the twinkling 
little theatre with its intent audience, and making a scene 
of calm and sweet beauty that belied the discomforts of the 
scorching davtime. 
But that was at a Corps Headquarters, and a Corps can 
be expected to do things. Since then concerts and revue parties 
have multiplied exceedingly, and units of much less majesty 
than a Corps have their own concerts or revue parties. It has 
long been accepted that entertainments behind the lines are an 
excellent thing for everybody concerned, but although the 
principle is all right, the practice of it is not an easy thing in 
J-Tacedonia. Practically everything has to be improvised. No 
wandering parties of London " stars " come out here, but 
officers and men have found their own talent, and plenty of it, 
and of surprisingly good quality all. 
Costumes and Artistes 
The question of costumes is one of considerable difficulty, 
and many have been the expeditions into Salonika to find 
things that often Salonika does not possess. But all difficulties 
have been got over. In this new and extraordinary army of 
ours it is always possible to find the right men. A hospital 
orderly reveals himself to be, in private life , a scene-painter 
of merit. Perkins, a mule-driver, proves to be a member of 
a well-known Folly troupe, with a much more graceful cog- 
nomen to help him through his professional career. Lieutenant 
W unpip, of the Southshires, had a mottled career up and down 
the American continents, and danced two years for his living 
in 'Sevi Yoik music halls. .Ml sorts of odd people discover 
themselves as capable, even soulful, musicians. Aladdin 
could not have done better. The O.C. Concert Party claps 
his hands, and the right ma.: appears. 
Each troupe Ixiasts that its particular " ladies" are the best 
that Macedonia can show. Feeling on this matter sometimes 
the show is in progress to realise that those delicate young 
creatures are stalwart young men who drive heavy motor 
lorries or throw bombs at the Bulgar. It all seems to show 
that English beauty is essentially masculine. Take a likely 
looking young man and dress him up suitably, and he makes 
quite a pretty girl. But then, only the ghosts of the burnt- 
out millinery shops in Venizelos Street could tell to what 
lengths the indefatigable O.C. Concert Parties have gone in 
order to obtain verisimilitude. And not even the fire has 
daunted them. They are at present busily scratching round 
among the ruins trying to find the necessary " props " for 
the opening of the winter season. 
To realise how much the ^!imis and the concert parties and 
the muic'ans of the orchestra mean to the Army in Mace- 
donia it is only necessary to try and imagine what existence 
would be like without them. To many thousands of men they 
are the one link with the gaieties and the comparatively 
care-free existence that they knew before the war. Tommy is 
grateful to the men who have sufficient talent to provide these 
distractions for him, and for his pait would willingly see them 
doing nothing else, but as a matter of fact, practically the 
whole of this woik is done in the spare time of the officers 
and men so engaged. 
Certain leading troupes have long ago attained the dignity 
of touring companies. \\ hen their woik is done they load 
up their properties with all the celerity and expedition of a 
ration party hurrying up to the firing line, and start oft' for 
some out of the way spot where the local O.C. and his men are 
waiting a-tiptoe for the fun of the evening. The Home 
O.C. probably has guests for dinner and a special spread that 
evening. The O.C. Concert Party probably eats a sandwich or 
so the while he gets into his footlight toggery, and superintends 
the erection of the stage. Even when the show is finished 
his trials are not over. The Home O.C. in honour bound 
makes a speech of appreciation and thanks. A dreadful 
stillness descends on the hall of mirth. Audience and com- 
pany alike look frightfully embarassed and unhappy. In our , 
honest British way we cannot do these graceful little things 
without looking as though we have been collectively condemned 
to death. Relief and joy return when everybody sings 
lustily " God save the King." 
We have long since developed beyond mere concert parties 
and pierrot troupes— not that these are not excellent in their 
way. We have an excellent revue, which has given great 
delight to thousands, various dramatic sketches have been pro- 
duced, and there have even been pantomimes. The theatrical 
history of J-!acedonia, indeed, started with a pantomime. 
" Dicjc Whittington," which opened with great success 
on Christmas Eve of 1915. Dick Whittington made history. 
The " book " was exceptionally clever from start to finish. 
The show was given in two marquees placed T-wise, and 
what was intended merely to amuse the members of a Field 
Ambulance and anybody who came along, was immediately 
annexed by a wise General and his Division. 
Since then, this new rendering of the old story has, I believe, 
been played in many parts of the world. Last winter the same 
authorsj)roduced "Aladdin." this time as a divisional enterprise. 
