Poppy (musical)
Encyclopedia
Poppy is a musical comedy play about the Opium Wars
. The play takes the form of a pantomime
, complete with Dick Whittington (played as a principal boy
), a pantomime dame
, and two pantomime horse
s. The book and lyrics were written by Peter Nichols
; the composer
was Monty Norman
.
warns the young Queen Victoria to know her place - "The Emperor's Greeting". The scene is set, panto-style, in a quaint, cardboard English village, "Dunroamin-on-the-Down", ancestral home of Sir Richard (Dick) Whittington and his widowed mother Lady Dodo.
Dick sets off with his manservant Jack Idle and the men of the village to seek their fortune in London or in the new towns of the Industrial Revolution
. Jack is sad to leave his girlfriend, Sally. His horse Randy and her mare Cherry also fancy each other and have to be rebuked for their friskiness - "Whoa, Boy". Lady Dodo pines for the good old days, but Dick believes the age of gold is yet to come.
Sally, left with her mare, sings of her confusion. She likes Jack but pines for Sir Richard, who is also her legal guardian
. Secretly, she and Dodo take off on their own for London.
In the City
, Dick encounters Obadiah Upward, an up-and-coming merchant, who explains how their fortunes can be made in distant China from the sale of poppies
. Dodo and Sally arrive and they agree to make the journey.
They sail to India, and, in the poppy fields, Dodo tells Upward why she loves him - "Nostalgie de la Boue". Dick and Jack reflect on British India, the East India Company
and the Battle of Plassey
in a Kipling-esque
ballad - "John Companee"
En route for China aboard one of Upward's opium clipper
s, Dick persuades Jack and Sally to sample their wares, and they savour a pipe dream
of paradise.
The Emperor of China tells Victoria to stop the cultivation of poppies, but she replies that the "Bounty of the Earth" is to be shared by every nation. She leaves him alone to lament his son's addiction to the drug. He sends Commissioner Lin to Canton
to stamp out the trade. Here, Lin meets Viceroy Teng
and his daughter Yoyo who is confused by Europeans - "They All Look the Same To Us".
Obadiah refuses to be intimidated by Lin's threats and sends Dick up the coast to seek fresh markets. Victoria joins his crew as an interpreter and Christian missionary and is questioned on her religious scruples. She explains there is a blessed trinity that justifies trade - "Blessed Trinity" (of Civilisation, Commerce and Christianity).
Before they leave, Dodo guesses that Sally loves Dick and tells her he is not only her guardian but also her half-brother.
The Chinese lay siege to the European compound, and the animals have to be slaughtered for food. Jack sings Randy a last lullaby
before killing him - "Rock-A-Bye Randy"
In the war
that follows, the Chinese are defeated and surrender Hong Kong Island
. Dodo and Upward sing of how the British and French soldiers sacked the Imperial Summer Palace in Peking - "Rat-a-Tat-Tat".
Though there are dark and savage undertones to this fairy tale, in the end, most of the British live happily ever after, and it is the Chinese who learn to know their place.
Act Two
. That year, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new musical. On 14 November 1983, the play was moved to the Adelphi Theatre
and ran until 18 February 1984. The show was revived
in December 1988 at the now-closed Half Moon Theatre
(with Louise Gold
as Dick Whittington), in 1998 by the Chelsea Players
, and again in March 2005 by the Italia Conti Academy
at the Landor Theatre
.
A 'script-in-hand' performance was given as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company
's 50th Birthday Celebrations on 9 July 2011, directed by Mark Ravenhill
, with both Peter Nichols
and Monty Norman
in the audience.
Opium Wars
The Opium Wars, also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars, divided into the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842 and the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860, were the climax of disputes over trade and diplomatic relations between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire...
. The play takes the form of a pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, complete with Dick Whittington (played as a principal boy
Principal boy
In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes.The tradition grew out of laws restricting the use of child actors in London theatre, and the responsibility carried by such lead roles...
), a pantomime dame
Pantomime dame
A pantomime dame is a traditional character in British pantomime. It is a continuation of en travesti portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag. They are often played either in an extremely camp style, or else by men acting 'butch' in women's clothing...
, and two pantomime horse
Pantomime horse
A pantomime horse is atheatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements...
s. The book and lyrics were written by Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols FRSL is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the Combined Services Entertainments Unit in Singapore where he...
; the composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
was Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
.
Plot
The year is 1840. The Emperor of ChinaEmperor of China
The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...
warns the young Queen Victoria to know her place - "The Emperor's Greeting". The scene is set, panto-style, in a quaint, cardboard English village, "Dunroamin-on-the-Down", ancestral home of Sir Richard (Dick) Whittington and his widowed mother Lady Dodo.
Dick sets off with his manservant Jack Idle and the men of the village to seek their fortune in London or in the new towns of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Jack is sad to leave his girlfriend, Sally. His horse Randy and her mare Cherry also fancy each other and have to be rebuked for their friskiness - "Whoa, Boy". Lady Dodo pines for the good old days, but Dick believes the age of gold is yet to come.
Sally, left with her mare, sings of her confusion. She likes Jack but pines for Sir Richard, who is also her legal guardian
Legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...
. Secretly, she and Dodo take off on their own for London.
In the City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, Dick encounters Obadiah Upward, an up-and-coming merchant, who explains how their fortunes can be made in distant China from the sale of poppies
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
. Dodo and Sally arrive and they agree to make the journey.
They sail to India, and, in the poppy fields, Dodo tells Upward why she loves him - "Nostalgie de la Boue". Dick and Jack reflect on British India, the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey , 23 June 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years...
in a Kipling-esque
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
ballad - "John Companee"
En route for China aboard one of Upward's opium clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
s, Dick persuades Jack and Sally to sample their wares, and they savour a pipe dream
Pipe dream
- Music :* Pipe Dreams , 2009* Pipedream , the first solo album from Lindisfarne front man Alan Hull* Pipe Dreams , 1995* "Pipe Dream", a song by Project 86 from the album Project 86...
of paradise.
The Emperor of China tells Victoria to stop the cultivation of poppies, but she replies that the "Bounty of the Earth" is to be shared by every nation. She leaves him alone to lament his son's addiction to the drug. He sends Commissioner Lin to Canton
Canton
- Administrative divisions :* Canton , territorial/administrative subdivision in some countries, notably Switzerland* Township , known as canton in Canadian French- China :...
to stamp out the trade. Here, Lin meets Viceroy Teng
Deng Tingzhen
Deng Tingzhen was the Governor-General of Liangguang from early 1836 until early 1840....
and his daughter Yoyo who is confused by Europeans - "They All Look the Same To Us".
Obadiah refuses to be intimidated by Lin's threats and sends Dick up the coast to seek fresh markets. Victoria joins his crew as an interpreter and Christian missionary and is questioned on her religious scruples. She explains there is a blessed trinity that justifies trade - "Blessed Trinity" (of Civilisation, Commerce and Christianity).
Before they leave, Dodo guesses that Sally loves Dick and tells her he is not only her guardian but also her half-brother.
The Chinese lay siege to the European compound, and the animals have to be slaughtered for food. Jack sings Randy a last lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
before killing him - "Rock-A-Bye Randy"
In the war
First Opium War
The First Anglo-Chinese War , known popularly as the First Opium War or simply the Opium War, was fought between the United Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty of China over their conflicting viewpoints on diplomatic relations, trade, and the administration of justice...
that follows, the Chinese are defeated and surrender Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...
. Dodo and Upward sing of how the British and French soldiers sacked the Imperial Summer Palace in Peking - "Rat-a-Tat-Tat".
Though there are dark and savage undertones to this fairy tale, in the end, most of the British live happily ever after, and it is the Chinese who learn to know their place.
Musical numbers
Act One- "The Emperor's Greeting"
- "Dunroamin-on-the-Down"
- "Whoa, Boy"
- "The Good Old Days"
- "Why Must I?"
- "In These Chambers"
- "If You Want to Make a Killing"
- "Nostalgie de la Boue"
- "John Companee"
- "Poppy"
Act Two
- "China Clipper"
- "The Bounty of the Earth"
- "The Emperor's Lament"
- "China Sequence"
- "They All Look the Same To Us"
- "The Blessed Trinity" (Civilisation, Commerce and Christianity)
- "Sir Richard's Song"
- "Rock-A-Bye Randy"
- "The Dragon Dance"
- "Rat-a-Tat-Tat"
- "Finale"
Production history
Poppy premiered on 25 September 1982 at the Barbican Centre performed by the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. That year, it won the Laurence Olivier Award for best new musical. On 14 November 1983, the play was moved to the Adelphi Theatre
Adelphi Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre is a 1500-seat West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiving house for a variety of productions, including many musicals...
and ran until 18 February 1984. The show was revived
Revival (play)
A revival is a restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed. New material may be added. A filmed version is said to be an adaptation and requires writing of a screenplay....
in December 1988 at the now-closed Half Moon Theatre
Half Moon Theatre
The Half Moon Theatre Company was formed in 1972 in a rented synagogue in Alie Street, Aldgate, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Half Moon Passage was the name of a nearby alley...
(with Louise Gold
Louise Gold
Louise Gold is an English singer, actress and puppeteer whose career has spanned almost four decades.From 1977, Gold was a puppeteer and voice actress for The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, and she has performed voice and puppet work on various other Muppet films and specials...
as Dick Whittington), in 1998 by the Chelsea Players
Chelsea Players
CP Theatre Productions is a London-based theatre. It is a registered charity and has been in continual existence since the 1960s. It was formerly known as Chelsea Players and was the resident company at the Chelsea Theatre on the Kings Road for 25 years until 2001.The company produces up to six...
, and again in March 2005 by the Italia Conti Academy
Italia Conti Academy
The Italia Conti Academy is a theatre arts training school based in London. It was founded in 1911 by actress Italia Conti...
at the Landor Theatre
Landor Theatre
The Landor Theatre is a pub theatre in Clapham, South London.Originally the Cage Theatre upon its opening in 1994, the Landor became "Upstairs at the Landor" in 1995 and finally the Landor Theatre in 1998, following a refit of the building....
.
A 'script-in-hand' performance was given as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
's 50th Birthday Celebrations on 9 July 2011, directed by Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill
Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
, with both Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols FRSL is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the Combined Services Entertainments Unit in Singapore where he...
and Monty Norman
Monty Norman
Monty Norman is a singer and film composer best known for being credited with composing the "James Bond Theme".-Biography:...
in the audience.
Original cast
| Tao-Kuan, Emperor of China Emperor of China The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the... |
Tony Church |
| Queen Victoria | Jane Carr Jane Carr Ellen Jane Carr is an English actress. She is well known for the voice role of "Pud'n" on the animated The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy . She also played a character called "Pudding" in one of her earliest TV appearances, the Jilly Cooper-penned BBC sitcom It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes,... |
| Jack Idle, a manservant | Stephen Moore Stephen Moore (actor) Stephen Moore is an English actor, known for his work on British television since the 1980s. He is known for his appearances in Rock Follies and other TV series such as The Last Place on Earth, the children's series The Queen's Nose and the drama Mersey Beat and the British TV comedy series Solo,... |
| Randy, his horse Horse The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today... |
Christopher Hurst and Andrew Thomas James |
| Sally Forth, a schoolmistress | Julia Hills Julia Hills Julia Hills is a British actress, known for being a member of the cast of the Channel 4 late-night comedy sketch show Who Dares Wins in the 1980s. She also played the character of Rona, the man-hungry neighbour, in eight series of the BBC hit sitcom 2point4 children... |
| Cherry, her mare Mare (horse) A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a... |
Noelyn George and Sara Finch |
| Lady Dodo, the dowager Dowager A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "Dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles.... Lady Whittington |
Geoffrey Hutchings Geoffrey Hutchings Geoffrey Hutchings was a British stage, film and television actor.-Early life and career:Hutchings was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England. After attending Hardye's School, he studied French and Physical Education at Birmingham University before he became a member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic... |
| Dick Whittington, the squire Squire The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"... |
Geraldine Gardner |
| Obadiah Upward, a London merchant | Bernard Lloyd Bernard Lloyd Bernard Lloyd is a Welsh actor noted for his television roles. Perhaps his most famous role is as The Traveller, the man who tries to unravel signalman Denholm Elliot's predicament in the 1976 Ghost Story for Christmas "The Signalman"... |
| Lin Tse-Tsii, Commissioner to Canton | Roger Allam Roger Allam Roger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables.... |
| Teng T'ing Chen, Viceroy of Kwuantung | Brian Poyser Brian Poyser Brian Poyser is an English actor whose career started in the early 1960s. His appearances include the musical Poppy, the BBC Television Shakespeare , the series Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot, and as the recurring character the Revd Aubrey Stewart in two... |
| Lord Palmerston | David Whitaker |
External links
- Poppy at The Guide to Musical Theatre
- Poppy production notes from the Chelsea Players
- Pantomimic Conventions in the plays of Peter Nichols by Christine Youssef
- Data record of Poppy at the Barbican from the Royal Shakespeare Company Performance Database
- Data record of Poppy at the Adelphi from the Royal Shakespeare Company Performance Database
- Nightingale, Benedict, "A Colonial Spoof on the London Stage", The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, October 24, 1982