FIGHT FOR TALENT

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 69, 23 March 1933, Page 19

FIGHT FOR TALENT

RADIO AND THE THEATRES

BROADCAST EMBARGO

A fight, as impoitaut and interesting as any which lias taken place in the entertainment world, appears to be loom I ing ahead as a result of the partial embargo now placed upon variety artists | giving broadcast .performances, writes Harold Conivay hi the "Daily Mail." The seeds of this fight were sown long ago—at the time, in fact, when two big forces .; began to push their ways forward simultaneously in the entertainment industry. F or it was precisely at tho period which witnessed the birth of radio variety that the great and plucky struggle was begun to restore the British music halls to the supreme pinnacle of popularity they had enjoyed for so long before the war. And ever since these two branches of vaiiety began to develop along parallel lines it has beeu inevitable that the ensuing rivalry must sooner or later be brought to a head. A preliminary skirmi&h a few years ago, when the 8.L.0. first showed a tendency to "raid" the ranks of the music-hall performers for badly needed talent, v.as allowed to die down: NEW SITUATION. But now that recent amalgamations have brought SO per .cent, of the musichalls iv the country under unified contiol, the situation has changed—aad the many well-known variety stars who have been accustomed to earning a comfbrtablo side-income from appearances before tho microphono will now have to obey the almost forgotten chuiso in their stage contracts which requires them to secure permission to bioadcast from their stage cmploycis.' That permission is unlikely to be given in any case where tho musichall managements consider there is a danger of audiences being "thinned" as a result of over-familiaiity i\±th a popular artist's act oil the radio. Now, wireless listeners cannot view a deadlock on this question with anything but consternation—the big majoiity of them, that is, who want to liearjjodd. variety programmes and .who have" been patiently waiting for the 8.8.C. to provide such entertainment, for tho vaudeville broadcasts are indifferent enough under present conditions. It is not only in the r»nks of the 8.8.C.'s own semi-ropertory company of artists—among whom the genuine spirit' of variety entertainment seems so .sadly lacking—that one notices the low standard. Even some of the bestknown music hall stage stais seem to lose much of their personality ducctly they take pait in a bioadcast produc tion. THE ONE CLASS. The impoitanb fact lennins hou evefj that tins latter class of pei formers aie—\}ith but few exceptions —the only artists- "\\ho have had even ti partial measure of success m bright ciii'rig up^^ these- well-intentioned wireless "entertainment:." Y7hat, then, doc's the BBC. intend fo do about the tliTdtcned diistie ie jbtrietion. ppou their «ipp«aiantcb be T&ur the-" nutroplfonc? * If the loi poiation is at all scnsit\e to tho opm ion of the public it serves it must be lCrthsed that uuless broadcast ■\anpt'\ shpws aie tC- die- a natuinl death fiom sheet mediocrity tho whole s\.op^ ol such pcifoiimifeos must be extended tathei than .rtstneted It is toi ( that' leason that I hope the toiporition will not adhere^ to- thp/at titudo of "let the- artists fight then own battles with tho music hall manage ments " Any artist of standing, laced with the necessity of choosing between occasional miaiophouo appeal antes, and regular employment m tho thcatics of a laigo and powerful circuit, must in c\itably decide upon, the latter Lcjuallj, I hope thfit tho \anety oi gamsation in question will not maint nu its present attitude of "let the BBC mako the fiist mo\c, they havo every thing to gain from us." LOtf&ER VIEW. Tho \anety managements feel —with a-certam amount ot justihcation, I will admit—that they thcm&ches ha\e done much m woiking up the personalities ot comedians and singers and in sug gestmg new acts to them. AY by, the> ask, should these self-same artists and their acts bo taken from them by a rival entertainments organisation 3 But I suggest to these theatre managements, and to Mi George Black, tho wizard who dnects their policies that a ini'lici seeing mow should bo taken, that tho maintenance, or promotion, it jou like, of a friendly but actrvo rivuhy between tire two spheres ot v mety entertainment will do moie than anything else to intensify its picseut popularity As a corollaij a deiual to the BBC of access to nrst class'wancty talent is bound to lesult in future broadcist piogrflmmes of such mcdiocie quality that there will be a dangei oi the public becoming tiled of this class of entertainment as-a whole. COMPROMISE POSSIBLE. I im confident that it is possible for both &idi?3 to come to some piactical agreement whereby stage ditrsts should bo able to do then shaie in the efforts to pio\ule wireless audiences with bet (oi v mety shows—not, ot couise, duphfating then stigc ni iterial but impress ing their personalities "on tho air," with suiheient effect to whet li^teueiV appetites for more at closer quarters And, fmallj, may I Miggcst to tho 8.8.C. that, having come to some such agreement, they should at onco take tho most unpoitant step of all—the engaging, for-the production of their ■\aiicty shows, of some export oi experts with first-hand knowledge and experience of the "conditions which go to tho building up of the gonuiuo variety atmosphere? A producer who has studied the reactions of laigo audiences to various t\pes of -variety acts will be moio \alu.iblo in the broadcasting studios than an entire army of -tar names and technical experts