Back to the 80's
Variety Show
Our summer production
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Read-through for sketches is Thursday 16th April 2026 at 7pm, read-through for songs is Sunday 19th April 2026 at 4pm, both at the Radford Social Club, Coventry.
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We are currently working on our summer production and it will be an 80's variety show featuring songs, musicians, comedy and sketches. We are looking for actors, singers, musicians, performers and scripts for this show, along with production team members.
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Please email us if you require further information or would like to advise us of your interest.
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The show is due to be performed on 10th, 11th and 12th July 2026.
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Back to the 80's Variety Show
Would you like to be involved:
Sing?
Dance?
Play an instrument?
Write a sketch?
Act?
Stand-Up Comedy?
Costume making?
Create Props?
Set Building?
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A brief history of Music Hall and Variety. A popular entertainment that features successive acts starring singers, comedians, dancers, and actors and sometimes jugglers, acrobats, and magicians. Derived from the taproom concerts given in city taverns in England during the 18th and 19th centuries, music hall entertainment was eventually confined to a stage, with the audience seated at tables; liquor sales paid the expenses. To discourage these entertainments, a licensing act was passed in 1751. The measure, however, had the contrary effect; the smaller taverns avoided obtaining licenses by forming music clubs, and the larger taverns, reacting to the added dignity of being licensed, expanded by employing musicians and installing scenery. These eventually moved from their tavern premises into large plush and gilt palaces where elaborate scenic effects were possible. “Saloon” became the name for any place of popular entertainment; “variety” was an evening of mixed plays; and “music hall” meant a concert hall that featured a mixture of musical and comic entertainment.
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