AustLit

Following the closure of the Orange Dandies' Brisbane season at the Cremorne Garden Theatre in May 1917, proprietor/producer John N. McCallum travelled to Sydney and Melbourne in search of a new resident company. When he arrived back in Brisbane in July, he announced that he had secured the Courtiers Costume Comedy Company, then under the direction of Sydney Mannering (previously associated with the Scarlet Troubadours). The Courtiers, or McCallam's Courtiers as they became known, debuted at the Cremorne on 4 August 1917, with Mannering retained as overall director. The initial ensemble included George Edwards who, the Brisbane Courier records, was responsible for overseeing the direction of sketches during his time with company (22 September 1917, p.12), as well as Harry Borrodale (who later took directorial responsibilities), comedian Joe Brennan (better known in later years for his partnership with Ida Newton), singer Colin Crane, serio-comedienne Linda Dale, and George Edwards's sketch partner and first wife Rosie Parkes. Crane and Dale remained with the troupe until 1918. Two other key performers to appear with the Courtiers during the troupe's year-long season at the Cremorne were Arthur Hemsley and Elsa May (1917/1918).

Reviews of the company's performances indicate that they rarely fell short of expectations. The Brisbane Courier records in its 10 November 1917 edition, for example, that 'A wine improves with age, so the Courtiers at the Cremorne Open-air Theatre appear to add to the quality of their entertainments as time goes on. Last night's programme dispelled any possible idea of ennui, for newness was apparent from first to last in song and jest, and patrons are assured of satisfaction which ever way their taste may lie' (p7). McCallum's Courtiers presented a similarly upmarket vaudeville fare based on the costume comedy style of entertainment introduced by Edward Branscombe. As Delyse Ryan notes in Brisbane Theatre During World War I, 'The heaviest focus... was placed on the presentation of songs. Solos, duets, trios and quartets featured, but great emphasis was placed on what the company referred to as "concerted items." Popular ballads and humorous songs numbers also appeared on the bill' (p.130). While Ryan sees the Cremorne's fare as more music hall than vaudeville, the entertainment was likely to have reflected McCallum's own tastes, which had undoubtedly been developed through his years with the Brisbane Musical Union and his relationship with concert-style performances. Nevertheless, the Cremorne's entertainment policy under John N. McCallum was always meant to be 'merry and bright' (Brisbane Courier 10 November 1917, p.2). The Brisbane Courier further notes that the company would usually make at least two complete changes during each programme (1 September 1917, p.12).

The Courtiers' season at the Cremorne Garden Theatre ended on 10 June 1918, when the theatre closed for the winter. McCallum re-opened exactly two months later with Hugh Huxham's Serenaders.