Salad Days

Newly acquired BA gowns hang heavy on the shoulders of Jane and Timothy. Having got this far, what on earth do they do next? They could get married, of course (so they do), but how can they make a living? In a London park one breathlessly warm summer day they encounter a tramp who trundles round a mobile mini-piano. Even tramps need a holiday now and then, and he invites the young graduates to look after his business interests for a month at Σ7 per week plus whatever they can collect. The piano is not just any old mobile mini; those who hear it find themselves dancing, even against their better judgment. On this gentle thread of story is strung a series of revue-type scenes providing rich opportunities for versatile comedy players who can also sing and dance. For the chorus

Originally, nothing! The production which ran for 2,283 record-breaking performances at the Vaudeville had a cast of twelve, plus a pianist, who between them played fifty-five roles of assorted lengths - the star of one scene being required, perhaps, to do no more than walk on in the next. Needless to say, there is every opportunity for an imaginative producer to use a much larger cast.

The Scenes
A park backcloth or drapes can be used throughout. Other scenes are represented with simple cut-outs, insets or drop cloths, or played in front of running tabs

Act I The University grounds. The breakfast-room at Timothy's home. A London park. A beauty parlour. A room at the Foreign Office. An office in Scotland Yard

Act II A night club. A park café terrace. A dress shop. The park. A flying saucer