Swansea Cafe Culture - The First World War 1914-1918Women in Jazz Swansea take us back to dark days....Britain was at war. The Welsh Field Co. Royal Engineers were dug in at Ragtime Villa in the Dardanelles. Welsh women such as Mrs. Rees, with a husband and five sons serving, made heroic sacrifices to the war effort. Swansea's Lena Ashwell staged all-woman concerts at the front. The Womens Freedom League put on shows throughout Wales. The Platoon of the Womens War Work Emergency Corps performed to packed theatre audiences. Musical Teas and Burlesque Reviews at which women were encouraged to bring babes in arms were all the rage and offered solace from the slaughter. Fast moving reviews employed many women as musicians and dancers. Swansea and Cardiff cafes competed for the best floor shows, with Swansea erecting striped awnings over the pavements.
Cafes showcased their revues twice daily, seating 400-1000 with Black theatre performers enjoying the extra work. Local women produced their own shows based on Black Revues such as Way Down South. Swanseas Gretta John with Miss Delor The Ragtime Chanteuse opened at the Cafe Chantant singing and tap dancing in their own right on production of Everything Is Peaches Down in Georgia. Another Gretta John production was Are you From Dixie? with Maye Price.
Illustrations: Cartoon Ads for Cafe Carlton and Cafe Continental
List of cafe names in a block:
The Kardomah The Carlton The Cafe Chantant The Cafe Continental The Exchange Restaurant The Baltic lounge The Winter Gardens The Mumbles Pier Pavilion
To contact Jen Wilson or Jane Miton at Women In Jazz you can email them at:
enquiries@womeninjazzswansea.org.uk.
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