On January 5 listeners were introduced to this delightful and imaginary music-hall, and watched, as it were, the performance at the second house. They will remember that Ralph Truman and Horace Percival sat in the stalls, and described the turns before they came on. So good was the show that they agreed before leaving that they would come again on January 27-tonight-the second house.
They will see, and listeners will hear: Bertha Willmott , singer of robust pantomime choruses ; Claude Hulbert and Enid Trevor , that happily married couple who quarrel only for the benefit of listeners ; Neil McKay , well-known Scottish comedian ; Ella Shields , creator of ' Burlington Bertie'; and, last but not least, ' Parade of Ragtime', a pot-pourri of broken rhythm, featuring Peter Bernard (original singer in this country of ' Alexander's Ragtime Band '), the Dalton Sisters (girls all three), the Three Admirals (all men), Arthur Sandford at the piano, and Reginald Foort at the BBC Theatre Organ.
Such is the Palace of Varieties, devised by Bryan Michie and presented by Ernest Longstaffe. John Weaver will conduct the BBC Variety Orchestra, seated in the imaginary orchestra-pit.