Here from There – travel, television and touring revues: internationalism as entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s
Abstract
Australian audiences for popular entertainments in the 1950s and 1960s were alive to theatrical depictions of cultural difference. Touring revues from overseas tapped into audience desires to see the national cultures of the world on stage. When Australian-based producer Tibor Rudas toured Oriental Cavalcade with performers imported by air from Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand to audiences in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Adelaide and Broken Hill, he promised to deliver ‘the mystery of Siam, the fascination of China, the excitement of Malaya, the enchantment of India, revealed in the most provocative, the most hilarious way’.Each of the major producers of commercial entertainment in mid-twentieth century Australia tried their hand at importing revues from Europe, Africa, North and South America, and East Asia. Like their counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore, the entrepreneurs in Australia harnessed an increasing global flow in the performers of national cultures, at a time when national governments, encouraged by their participation in the United Nations, were adopting cultural policies to foster national distinction and engaging in diplomacy and promotion by sending troupes of entertainers on tour as national ambassadors.
This article explores the significance of the ‘exotic’ revue as live entertainment in mid-twentieth century Australia. At a time when television viewing was becoming a regular domestic routine and international air travel was becoming an affordable indulgence, theatre producers offered audiences in the theatre experiences of being away from home, akin to tourism and travel beyond the domestic scene. What was the significance of these entertainments based on travel, tourism and the exotic? How did ‘exotic’ revues forge relations between the national authenticity of folkloric traditions and the technological innovations of internationlist entertainment?
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for all material published in Popular Entertainment Studies resides with the Author.
Readers of Popular Entertainment Studies may, however, save and/or print any files from the journal for their personal use, as long as no alterations are made to the material and any subsequent citation is properly acknowledged. For any other use/reproduction of material (e.g. for course materials), express prior permission must be obtained from the journal's General Editor.
Authors are welcome to re-use/reprint their work elsewhere, as long as such publication includes due acknowledgement of the work's prior appearance in Popular Entertainment Studies. Authors are individually responsible for obtaining any necessary copyright permissions for images, photos, or other materials reproduced in their articles and for including any required credits. Copyright clearance for their use must be lodged with the journal if your submission is accepted for publication.
For more information, please refer to the copyright form.
